Not worth it

Re “Chesapeake schools committed to serving students” (Sept. 15): Some teachers may be happy about students returning to school, but many others are scared and they feel they can’t say anything for fear of retribution. They are worried about students coming to school while they are supposed to be quarantined; being in the buildings with other staff, some without masks; having too many students to space them 3 feet apart (which is not enough, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention); students removing masks to eat lunch at those too-close desks; and the virus getting into the air and being spread by the heating, ventilation and air conditioning. If an anonymous, no-retribution survey of teachers was done to ask about these issues, the results would be eyeopening.

Chesapeake schools Superintendent Jared Cotton said he was concerned about students falling behind. Realizing there are no perfect or even good options for schools during a pandemic, I would argue that students can always catch up later. They may never get past it if their teacher or loved one gets COVID-19 from a student and dies or is permanently disabled by it. They definitely won’t get past it if they themselves are the ones who are killed or maimed by the disease. Rushing to get students back into classrooms is sure to result in COVID-19 spreading to students and staff quickly. Having to continually switch back and forth between online and in-person learning is going to be confusing and difficult to keep up with, and it will be a miracle if nobody dies. Is that really a price worth paying? I say it’s not.

Lisa Carneal, Chesapeake