Closing schools is not a solution

Montgomery County’s Board of Health issued an order by unanimous vote last week to shut down all of its schools, K-12, for two weeks. They initially left a loophole in the order that would have allowed them to automatically extend the edict, but removed it at the last minute. The reason for the shutdown is the reason every local, regional, and national official has used over the past eight or so months: COVID, corona, Wuhan, call it whatever you want. The pandemic is making decisions for us.

Except, not everyone is accepting these decisions with the docility that these governmental entities had hoped or expected. A group of Montco parents have been battling back against the edict, filing two separate lawsuits in state and federal courts to keep the schools open.

If I were the judge, I’d have no problem finding in favor of the parents. Closing down schools is a random act that, unlike closing restaurants and for-profit institutions, cannot be justified under the general “well the welfare of the community trumps the economic needs of the small business owner.” Here, the science has shown that the virus does not pose a serious threat in academic settings, and the incidence of spread is statistically insignificant. In fact, until quite recently, the Centers for Disease Control had posted guidance on its website urging schools to reopen. That message was mysteriously removed under circumstances that, at this moment, have little bearing on the scientific data.

If anything, COVID-19 is spread at the school-age level by sporting events, private gatherings and other situations that put children in contact with others who are not taking the appropriate precautions. Most schools, on the other hand, have taken the precautions that are more than necessary to keep children safe and, more importantly, prevent them from infecting the adults in their circle.

But despite the science (which, um, we are supposed to worship, right?) Board of Health like the one in Montco are ordering, not suggesting, that children be forced back into those virtual dungeons they inhabited from March through July. It is unconscionable that these de facto oligarchs are telling parents what is best for their children, particularly where the science proves that giving those parents a choice is a legitimate alternative.

If mommy and daddy do not want Mitzi and Mitt sitting in a classroom with their peers, they have the right to opt for home or virtual schooling. That does not mean that the rest of us should be forced to keep our children isolated until the Great Emancipators in Norristown, Harrisburg and elsewhere tell us that it is okay to let them emerge.

We are seeing cases of serious psychic and psychological damage being caused by these unnecessary shutdowns, with young children losing the social skills that they were just starting to develop in elementary and middle schools. We are seeing kids who are channeling the stress and anxiety of the adults around them but without the coping mechanisms that come with maturity (and I use that word advisedly). We are watching as young boys and girls are not only missing out on the benefits of proximity and kinship, of interaction and reaction, but are becoming fearful little vessels of apprehension.

This is wrong. And the fact that it is being done under the guise of “protecting children” and reducing the spread is as dishonest as it is reprehensible.

There are ways to manage this crisis, without creating a greater crisis. Keeping children out of school is not the solution. It is clearly not the solution for the economically disadvantaged child who doesn’t have a laptop and whose mom and dad work two jobs to make ends meet, and will not need to get third and fourth jobs to pay for day care.

It is bad enough that we are turning the cities and towns into some updated version of Tombstone, where the tumbleweeds that roll through the streets bear the labels of all of the stores that have been forced to close.

It is bad enough to say to small business owners, especially restauranteurs, that they are selfish if they complain (“PEOPLE ARE DYING DON’T YOU CARE?”). It is bad enough to make people feel ashamed for wanting to celebrate a holiday with loved ones who might not be here next year.

The virus is invisible. So, however, is the price we will pay for this unnecessary crusade to close the schools.