The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Friday that K-12 students can now remain 3 feet apart instead of the original 6 feet in classrooms, given that other safety measures like mask mandates are still enforced. Along with this update, the CDC also withdrew their recommendation for physical barriers like partitions in schools, and recommended that schools begin to screen athletes and students who participate in extracurricular activities for Covid-19 symptoms. The CDC also specifies that the changes do not apply to teachers or staff because of the higher rate of transmission for adults, and adds that communities with high rates of transmission should still remain 6 feet apart in middle and high schools, if they are not in cohorts. The CDC claims that these recommendations are backed by recent studies.
Although the CDC’s recommendations do not set the rules for schools, it is likely that more districts will begin to implement these changes, which will allow for more students to learn in-person at once. These changes come at a great time, as more and more schools are beginning to open back up for hybrid or in-person instruction, like Aragon will in a couple weeks.
However, there is some opposition against the change, most notably from Becky Pringle, the president of the largest teachers union in the United States. Pringle voices her concern, stating that the CDC did not establish with certainty that the changes are backed by science and can be executed in a “manner that does not detract from the larger long-term needs of students,” emphasizing that it is “not the time to let our guard down.”
I personally disagree with Ms. Pringle’s concerns and trust that the CDC has backed their findings and recommendations with the proper evidence to best ensure the country’s safety; while I know it is too soon to “let our guard down,” I do know that many younger kids are suffering and losing valuable months of their education and time to develop their social skills by not being in person, so I think that if the CDC clears it as safe, then we should jump at the opportunity to teach more kids in person.
Questions:
Do you think that we should continue to play it safe in middle and high schools if possible, in order to best minimize infection? Or do you think the CDC's new recommendations should be implemented in all K-12 schools?
How do you think this change will impact teachers?
Do you side with Ms. Pringle's concerns about the science behind the decision? Do you think that schools can continue to enforce other safety measures as well as this one?
I agree with you that the CDC would most likely not release something so big without having good evidence to back it. This new mandate will definitely allow many more students to come back to in-person school so I believe there is no harm in implementing it. One of the biggest challenges with this is parents who will feel uncomfortable with many more students in classrooms and less social distancing but I think the best thing to do is to have your child stay home if that is a concern. I think that teachers who are less scared of getting the virus will not mind this but ones who are more cautious will feel more nervous because there will be more students. I think it's good that the CDC recommended that these changed not apply to teachers because adults do have a higher transmission rate. Schools should be able to enforce this measure because they were/are able to deal with the 6 foot one. While I do understand Ms. Pringle's perspective, I believe the CDC and the information they are spreading.
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a good point about teachers who are more cautious of catching the virus with the increase in students per day, which I do sympathize with, because even though science may suggest that the risk remains the same, the sheer amount of kids in such close corridors after a year of social distancing is still daunting. In order to accomodate for these fears, I think that schools should allow for teachers to opt to teach class virtually for the remainder of the year if possible.
DeleteI largely have trust in the CDC's recommendations. The AAP warned "in many school settings, 6 feet between students is not feasible without drastically limiting the number of students." Hybrid models seem problematic: NPR wrote " In a recent NPR/Ipsos poll of parents, those with children enrolled in hybrid learning were the most likely to feel worried that their child will be behind when the pandemic is over (62% agreed versus 50% of those attending remote, and 37% attending fully in person). They were also most likely, by a wide margin, to believe that the pandemic has disrupted their child's education." Remote learning is also problematic. It seems that there is great benefit in being able to reopen completely, and that, if the CDC concludes there is relatively little risk (assuming universal masking and cohorts), then it should be generally advisable to reopen with 3 feet distancing. While I see the concern with decreasing distancing, there does seem to be evidence for a 3 feet distancing. NPR notes that "The World Health Organization already recommended that schools distance children 1 meter apart (3.3 feet)." However, it is important that other safety measures are strictly enforced, with monitoring of the community transmission situation. Taking these precautions, I see no reason why reopening with 3 feet would be a problem.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with everything you said - I think those statistics are very effective in backing up your claims as well, as the one about parents with children in hybrid learning shows that steps like these should be taken immediately when deemed safe, in order to try and minimize the impact on children's education. I also think the WHO's recommendation for a distance of 1 meter between children also serves as more proof that this change is safe, which will hopefully bring more comfort to concerned parents and staff.
DeleteI think that in middle and high schools, it is okay to begin to to lessen the distance. I have full faith in the CDC's recommendations, and that they accurately will make healthy guidelines. Additionally, as more and more of the population becomes vaccinated, this becomes a safer and safer choice. Three feet also means more students per classroom, a huge benefit for learning. This change should help teachers a lot, as some classrooms will now be 100% in person so teachers can teach to only students in the classroom, as opposed to students in the classroom and students on a hybrid system. I also disagree with Ms. Priggle's concerns about this decision as I trust the CDC, but I think schools should continue to implement mask and sanitization measures for an extra precaution.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with the other comments posted that the CDC is a reliable source of information and guidelines, backed by scientific studies -- so I trust that 3 feet is enough distance to keep safe. I think what the issue comes down to is a political debate over whether or not teachers' safety should be prioritized over the education of young children. There really is no right answer to this question. Again, this is similar to the debate we were having at the beginning of the pandemic, over how much to lock down, and for how long: whether saving a certain amount of lives was worth tanking the economy and killing the livelihoods of millions of people. You can't put a price on human life, and yet at the same time the economy must go on, as must education. Ultimately, I think that they new 3-foot guideline will have a big impact in terms of schools being able to accommodate more students at once. As the head of a large teachers' union, of course Ms. Pringle is going to advocate for greater social distancing in schools -- while this would be nice if it was logistically feasible to reopen schools this way, at some point we cannot let all our decisions be dictated by such demands. Just look at our Governor, Gavin Newsom -- facing a recall effort for a multitude of reasons, but one of them being his confusing reopening plan and initial slowness to reopen schools (likely due to fear of pushback from teachers' unions).
ReplyDeleteI completely trust the CDC and its recent suggestions for how to go back to school safely. I think that we should try to get middle and high schoolers back to school now that it is safe, and people who still feel unsafe have the option to stay home. I understand that some teachers may be hesitant to go back to school with looser guidelines, but the CDC did say that teachers should remain six feet apart with physical shields. These extra steps to protect teachers should help some adults feel more comfortable with returning to the classroom. Although I hear Ms. Pringle’s concerns, I fully trust the CDC and believe that it is safe to follow their lead.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your views that the CDC’s information is backed up and contains a lot of credibility. Especially given the fact that covid is known to have very low transmission rates between children and these years are very fundamental for their growth, school should be safe to implement the new 3ft guidelines. furthermore if other researchers are still put in place of his men wearing masks and washing hands and teachers are getting their vaccines then it should be safe to allow more kids in school and benefits education in numerous ways.
ReplyDeleteIn my eyes, I trust everything the CDC says. They are one of the biggest and most reliable centers of information in the entire US, and they have never said anything that has not been backed up by a significant amount of research. I believe the new guidelines for 3 feet should be used in schools, as middle and high school children are mature enough to respect those boundaries. I do not think this will affect teacher's significantly and the backlash to these new guidelines is completely unecessary at this point, and is just an excuse to push back further in person learning, which is essential to children's growth.
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