Headline woes

Get us a copy editor, stat!

If you were tooling around on the internet Thursday morning you may have come across this headline, which appeared on Drudge, which linked from the Associated Press story, and was picked up by several TV stations around the nation: “Very few Americans back full school reopening” We’re not sure how much we trust Drudge or Channel 9 out of Washington, but we trust the Associated Press and its polls. And we wondered exactly how many were “few Americans.” Headline writers necessarily can’t tell the whole story. But this headline was worse than most. Here is what the AP poll showed, according to the nut graph: Only about 10% of Americans think day care centers, preschools and K-12 schools should open this fall without restrictions. Without restrictions. A pretty large part of the overall story, that. We don’t know a soul who thinks that opening schools this fall without restrictions is a good idea, and are only surprised that the AP/NORC Center for Public Affairs poll found that 10% of Americans did. The poll actually found that 31% of all respondents thought schools should not open this fall at all. And 60% thought they should, but with either major adjustments or minor adjustments. For the record, 46% said major adjustments should be required. Most Americans, it appears, are paying attention. Only 8% said schools should open as usual. We could rewrite Thursday’s headline this way: “Most Americans want schools open” As for Arkansas, schools are scheduled to open, if the creek don’t rise. But with all kinds of changes. Some kids will only go to school twice a week, having chosen the A-B days option. Some kids will go back five days a week, and will be required to wear masks, sit in desks six feet away from other desks, and have virtual assemblies. Some students and their families will chose virtual schooling. And no telling how band class will go down. Or choir classes, PE and recesses. Principals certainly have their work cut out for them. And while that can be said every year, this year things will be completely different. Which only proves that Thursday morning headline is even more misleading.