In New York City, as of August 24, parents were being told
their kids would start school on September 10, and the hybrid schedule will
have in-person learning Tuesday and Thursday or Wednesday and Friday, plus
every other Monday. But parents didn't know which of these schedules their own
children were assigned to, or if the plan, as it stood, would be cancelled in
favor of all-remote learning.
New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg found
herself searching for a solution that would provide stability. Should they move
to the coronavirus hotspot where her parents live so they can help out with the
kids? Or spend all the family's savings on a homeschool learning pod?
“A friend who works in chronically underfunded city high
schools,” wrote Goldberg, “pointed out that privileged parents like me are
getting a taste of something that other urban parents have always gone
through.” And like low-income parents at the mercy of an erratic system,
Goldberg was feeling abandoned by the government.
She starts her criticism at the top, with a president who
refuses to accept scientific data and has provoked fears that schools cannot
open safely, even in New York, where infection rates are currently low.
Republican senators have refused to approve funding for upgrading school
ventilation systems and other safety measures. State budget cuts may force the
layoff of 9,000 teachers.
Goldberg was relieved to learn that the city now has plans
for outdoor classrooms, while wondering why they weren't revealed sooner.
She quotes psychotherapist Lesley Alderman, who says parents
with young children are the most stressed by the situation and feel guilt for
wanting their kids back in school when there's a risk of illness for students
and teachers. But, asks Goldberg, why should parents be feeling like failures
for not being able to handle their upended lives? Why isn't the government
making schools safe?
“There are only two ways out of pandemic-driven insecurity,”
she writes. “Great personal wealth or a functioning government.” Now we are
finding out what happens when we don't have either one.