Letters to the Editor: The pandemic harmed students. Obsessing over test scores will harm them more.
Published March 18, 2020
We are entering a time that will require all of us to fight the battle over education. If you fail to fight the enemy that is now at our doorstep, you will lose many of your children.
Our schools are not in the state that they need to be in for the challenges that we see on a daily basis, with the COVID-19 outbreak. As we go into this fight, we better be prepared to make the most of the situation and provide our students with the best we can.
This virus has forced schools to make some very necessary changes. Many of these changes include reducing the number of faculty and staff to reduce the amount of students that students have to interact with, as well as the use of teleconferencing and technology to make learning a virtual experience.
Students were not prepared for this. They are not used to not having their teachers around. They are not used to seeing teachers at the front door, even if it is only for a few minutes, let alone talking to them and interacting with them. Some of these students are already in college and are already functioning in life. They were not ready to be forced into this type of environment. They are not used to the idea of no school at all.
It is not fair to the students that they did not have their entire class experience as normal. In some cases the class was cut in two and the teacher was not allowed to come into the classroom, which is very important to the students. Students have mental health issues. They are suffering from severe trauma from seeing their teachers sick. I have dealt with many trauma patients coming back from being in the military. They have mental health issues that are not well-treated and not addressed.
The fact that we cut classes and forced those students into school is something that will be