It's too late to put the genie back in the bottle. Whether we like it or not we're going with the Sweden Model. I've got school age kids myself, and I understand the risk. This is going to be a situation that could become hard to manage but our society's economy is constructed in such a way that relies on daytime programming for children and teens outside of their home. The teachers are going to have to help bear the load, just as we all are.
Are you willing to die for the economy? Ask your kids, are they OK with you dying so that money can be made, maybe collect on some life insurance money? Are you OK with your kids potentially dying (rare but not zero) just to keep them busy during the day? I bet not.
Yes. And there are many millions of unafraid people. Doesn't mean they aren't cautious, but they understand risk.
Children have a higher chance of dying in a car accident, are you going to stop driving tomorrow, because you know a non-zero chance of dying is all you will accept.
To your point: there is a non-zero chance of dying when riding public transportation.
Hyperbole aside, I think it's important to understand the risks and find appropriate compromises. Clearly "business as usual" is not the best course of action. But "shut everything down and wait until 2021" isn't very practical either. We missed our chance to contain the virus - but the world's not going to end.
You sound resigned to your fate. When did Americans become accustomed to accepting utter incompetence that costs hundreds of thousands of lives from their leadership? Is the political process down there completely broken?
Maybe. I think the major problem is there is not a compelling childcare alternative that's ready to take over if the schools don't open.
I also think it's a "tale of two cities". There's a lot of political will to reopen the schools in rural areas that haven't been as deeply impacted by the virus itself. And rightly so - the risk in rural upstate New York is much lower than in Flushing, Queens. It's probably wisest to address this at a local level.
I'm already having friends with kids call to see if we can do co-ops where 3-4 kids go to a single home and do online school. By limiting the families, you limit exposure, and solve the child care and socialization problem at the same time.
A friend is doing something similar, except in person: a teacher from the private school his daughter attends/attended has entered into an agreement with some parents. His daughter will go to school with a few classmates and her teacher, doing the curriculum she was supposed to be doing, just offsite.
Everyone involved has to be COVID-19 tested and they are taking as many sensible precautions as they can. I realize this isn't an option for many, but if you can get on board with a good teacher it's win-win. Note that my friend is very vigilant about not spreading the bug — he's not an antimask type at all. It seems like a great option if it's possible.
I think the challenge systemwide is this further divides the privileged from the lowest income earners. It adds additional cost that even when pooled with others is outside the realm of affordable for many.
The only option for them will be to send kids back to school because they need to be able to work in order to feed their kids. Their choice is food/shelter vs low risk of death for children with COVID. Sucks, but we should at least understand why there is such a push to reopen schools.
The divide this creates though.....who knows what the long term consequences will be
A lot of people are now unemployed. Some of them will open small childcare centers, often operating in private homes on an informal cash basis. (I'm not claiming this is a good thing, just that it will inevitably happen.)
Maybe 30k isn't worth it, but when your entire family's access to (non-financially-ruinous) health care is held hostage by your employer, it's a harder decision to make.
You say you understand the risk. Do your kids have a say in this? It's their lives on the line. Would you respect their decision if they insist they are unwilling to go to school in person?
They haven't insisted on that. Quite the opposite, they have insisted they want to return to school. I have talked to them about the pandemic and they understand people are getting sick.
I'm puzzled why my comment got downvoted. Perhaps someone could explain?
I was pointing out that the language the commenter used made it seem like his children's opinions were not taken into consideration.
For simple analogy, imagine if he said "I have a wife myself, and I understand the risks" when insisting that his wife needs to go to a place many consider dangerous.
