Public schools in New Jersey need to head outside
Outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside. I’ll repeat: Outside.
Public schools should be throwing everything they have right now to get their classes outside in September. Kindergarten? Outside. Fourth grade? Outside. Seniors? Outside.
Rent some tents. Move some tables and chairs. Buy some more whiteboards. Move the whole operation outside. This way, we can safely - or as safely as possible- reopen schools in September.
Inside? That’s how the coronavirus spreads. One person has it, they spend hours indoors in close contact, others get it.
Outside? Not so much. One study found that out of 7,000 cases in China, only one - one! was confirmed to have happened outdoors.
When you’re outside, you can easily socially distance. You don’t need to wear masks. The airflow makes the virus dissipate. This is no-brainer bordering on “you really have to have no brains if you’re a superintendent and not pursuing this.”
Private schools are planning for this. Colleges are planning for this - in fact, Villanova is issuing each student a freaking beach chair when they come to campus this year. New York City did it back during the flu pandemic of 1918.
Outside, outside, outside, outside, outside … outside.
Half days? Not needed. A/B schedules? Not needed. And with Gov. Phil Murphy allowing parents to choose a virtual-only course of study for their children, it makes it even easier to pull this off. Full-day school, five days a week, outside.
Sure, maybe the bunsen burner experiments will have to wait, and yes, we’re not going to be watching movies in history class, but come on: Teachers can teach, students can learn and socialize, parents can go to work. All done safely. Issues? Sure. Let’s tackle them. Bathrooms: Put a mask on, go inside the school.
Lunch: Bring your own. If you can’t afford that, lunch will be provided.
It’s too hot: Shut up.
It might rain: Bring galoshes. It is raining: Go virtual for the day.
It’s too cold: Wear a coat. We don’t have the space: Go to the high school sports fields. See? Not difficult.
The fact not one single district I’m aware of in Mercer County is digging in on the potential of outside learning is ridiculous. Of all the ideas I’ve seen and heard, taking the school outside is the only one that A) allows for full-day; B) dumps the A/B schedule nonsense; C) makes it so kids don’t need to have masks on all day; D) makes it so parents can go to work and E) makes any sense whatsoever.
Remember last year, the big todo over vaccines, how the state was going to make it mandatory if you wanted to go to public school? But now, with coronavirus raging, we’re just going to send the 1.4 million kids, 200,000 teachers, and assorted support staff back into the buildings? How insane is this?
Remember, if you’ve been reading me on this topic, I truly believe Murphy is bluffing and schools won’t be opening in September.
But the outside idea? It would work, certainly through September and October. By Thanksgiving time - and with the flu season blossoming, the hoped-for COVID-19 vaccine getting close - you have to think schools will be going virtual anyway.
Why not give the kids, the teachers, and the parents a few months of relative normalcy? It’s easy. You just have to say the magic word. Loud enough for your school board and administration to hear.
Outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside, outside.