10 — Monday, August 31, 2020
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
A
s K-12 students across the
country prepare for the
2020-2021 school year,
mounting research suggests that
school districts can welcome
students back to the classroom
safely. However, from here in
Ann Arbor to large cities like
Chicago and Los Angeles, a
flurry of school leaders have
signed off on plans to keep
millions of students home for
remote learning in response to
the ongoing COVID-19 threat.
There are clear reasons for
the widespread push toward
distance learning, at least to kick
off the upcoming school year.
Since the coronavirus has the
potential to spread easily in large
gathering places like schools,
experts fear that a return to
in-person learning would spark
a surge in COVID-19 infections.
At a time when the United States
just surpassed a total of 5 million
confirmed
coronavirus
cases,
many officials, students and
health experts don’t think now is
the right time to bring thousands
of students together to learn.
It is obvious that a return
to in-person learning in the
middle of this public health
crisis carries risks. But evidence
is increasingly emerging that
the risks of keeping students at
home are even higher. According
to a statement released by
the
American
Academy
of
Pediatrics, “children learn best
when physically present in the
classroom.
But
children
get
much more than academics at
school. They also learn social
and emotional skills at school,
get healthy meals and exercise,
mental health support and other
services that cannot be easily
replicated online. Schools also
play a critical role in addressing
racial and social inequity.”
The truth is that while remote
learning may curb the spread
of COVID-19, it has devastating
implications for all K-12 students,
especially younger-aged children.
Regardless of what many school
leaders
say
about
distance
learning, it is nowhere near an
acceptable replacement for the
in-person
education
that
so
many students depend on. While
many are expecting the second
round of remote learning to be an
improvement over the first in the
spring — when the coronavirus
first shut down our economy —
it is becoming increasingly clear
that the distance learning this
fall will be another nightmare for
students and parents alike.
According to the Washington
Post, “America is about to embark
on Round 2 of its unplanned
experiment in online education
— and, for millions of students,
virtual
learning
won’t
be
any better than it was in the
spring.” As reported in the
same Washington Post article,
students will face numerous
hurdles if forced to learn online
this school year. In addition to
instructors’ lack of experience
with remote learning, “millions
of
students
nationwide
still
lack
devices
and
Internet
access.” In the end, as risky as
the COVID-19 threat remains,
school leaders must weigh the
equally dangerous impacts of
inadequate learning from home,
especially on students from
poorer backgrounds. At a time
when every student deserves
a high-quality education more
than ever, distance learning is
deeply problematic.
While it’s painfully obvious
that students will get an inferior
education online, the threats that
remote learning pose to student
development
go
far
beyond
academics. More than ever, an
abundance of evidence suggests
that
distance
learning
has
disastrous social and emotional
consequences
for
students,
raising
the
chance
that
a
destructive mental health crisis
will arise from online classes.
After the first round of remote
learning earlier this year led
to an increase in anxiety,
depression
and
suicidal
or
self-harming
thoughts
for
school-aged
children,
we
cannot afford to make the same
mistake twice. In addition to
a way for students to develop
academically,
socially
and
emotionally, in-person classes
also serve as a safe haven
for students who come from
troubled backgrounds and are
endangered by violence and
abuse at home. A significant
number
of
school
districts
and law enforcement officers
continue to voice concerns
that
distance
learning
prevents teachers and school
administrators from finding out
about abuse and intervening for
the benefit of the student.
Finally,
besides
the
direct
impacts of online learning on
students, a distance education has
alarming effects on our economy,
which is already struggling in the
midst of the ongoing coronavirus
crisis. One of the most glaring
and obvious impacts of remote
learning is the inconveniences
and troubles it brings for working
parents, many of whom are already
suffering financially. As a result
of mandatory distance learning,
parents are forced to commit
less time to their jobs so they can
help their students successfully
learn from home. Many others
must also turn to costly child care
options who have no other choice,
which puts additional financial
strain on families.
In the end, it’s overwhelmingly
clear that distance learning is no
match for the valuable experiences
that students derive from an
in-person education. In addition to
the inarguable and vast drawbacks
to distance learning, research
increasingly demonstrates that
schools can reopen safely and
intelligently in the age of COVID-
19, with both in-person and hybrid
options available. Meanwhile, as
our understanding of the novel
coronavirus
deepens,
it
has
become exceedingly evident that
COVID-19 is a mild illness for the
vast majority of infected children.
According to medical research
published by Mayo Clinic, “While
all children are capable of getting
the virus that causes COVID-19,
they don’t become sick as often as
adults. Most children have mild
symptoms or no symptoms.” At
the same time, numerous experts
also suggest that even if children
do contract the coronavirus from
in-person classes, the chance that
they will transmit COVID-19 to
higher-risk individuals remains
low.
At this point, the evidence
makes it exceptionally clear that
schools can reopen safely in the
presence of strict safety measures
— including social distancing,
hand washing and face coverings
— and provide an enriching and
high-quality education for all K-12
students across the nation. While
in-person classes do not come
without risks to public health, the
extreme risks posed by distance
learning models are far deeper
for both students and society as a
whole. School leaders who have
moved the beginning of the 2020-
2021 school year online have an
obligation to their students and
their communities to make plans
for in-person or hybrid classes
immediately.
Benefits of in-person learning outweigh the risks
EVAN STERN | COLUMNIST
L
et’s take a moment of
silence. Take this time to
reflect. To mourn. We have
lost a valued member of our college
experience — athletics. On Monday,
Aug. 10, Big Ten Commissioner
Kevin Warren announced the
conference
postponed
all
fall
competition, including our beloved
gameday weekends, until further
notice because of the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic. The entire
season is likely all but canceled. To
call this a “tragedy” is a massive
understatement.
“The
selfish
answer is that I am sad because I
want to watch sports,” Business
freshman Matthew Berube said.
“But at the same time, I think
(canceling fall sports season) is
smart. I have been hearing about all
these athletes getting coronavirus
and it has become really bad. With
this new ruling, they can now return
quicker when it is safe.”
Like many of you, I was
enthusiastic
about
collegiate
athletics and everything that comes
with them. From prior experience,
there is nothing more satisfactory
than the crisp autumn air, a sea of
maize and blue and singing “The
Victors” at the top of your lungs.
For freshmen, this is just another
disappointment in our already
dismal year. If you’re like me, there’s
the reason you told everyone you
chose the greatest university in
the world — academics, the alumni
network, etc. — but then there’s the
other major factor in your decision:
football Saturdays.
Yet before we grab our pitchforks
and storm Director of Athletics
Warde Manuel’s office, we should
realize that the University of
Michigan is just as heartbroken
as we are. In any other difficult
situation, our leaders would combine
their respective intelligence and
figure out a creative solution. Except
we live in a world where one must
both clothe their faces and stand
72 inches away from one another
at all times. How can we expect a
myriad of contact sports, as well as
those played in an indoor facility, to
survive this virus’s wrath?
Think about it: Linemen crashing
into each other like wrecking
balls every snap, two volleyballers
meeting at the top of the nylon
and sweaty locker rooms? I don’t
think Dr. Fauci would approve. If
you’re still skeptical of the motives
behind the decision, look no further
than the University’s pockets. By
canceling fall sports, the University
has sacrificed $122.3 million in
football revenue, according to the
U.S. Department of Education, and
an estimated loss of $85 million
to the city of Ann Arbor, via local
business owners.
If there’s one thing all of us
have experienced these past six
months, it’s making unpopular
choices. We’re staying at home for
the fall term instead of showering
in a community bathroom. We’re
isolating ourselves for the last
fourteen days of summer when we
should be soaking up the final rays
of sunshine in our hometowns.
We’re forcing ourselves to choose
our heads over our hearts. It’s not
necessarily healthy, but then again
neither is contracting COVID-19.
It’s why we, as students, should
be able to understand the difficulty
of this decision on both sides. Even
though deleting fall competition
from our agendas is undoubtedly
infuriating, we cannot let it distract
us from the ultimate goal: complete
safety
among
the
University
community. In our attempt to
achieve it, we must carry on valiantly.
We must not become complacent
with the current condition of our
athletic climate, but rather seek
to improve it by continuing to do
our part: Masking up, washing our
hands frequently and staying six
feet away from each other. As of
Aug. 14, Michigan athletics has two
new COVID-19 cases out of 254
tested, via the Detroit Free Press.
The University is already taking
a massive risk. Allowing students
to live in dorms, occupy common
areas like the Michigan Union and
inevitably congregate — all while
abiding by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention’s guidelines
— is a lofty request at best. At the
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, they’ve switched to
total remote learning to reduce
residential density. Little brother
did the same.
Could we be next? Maybe. One
thing is for sure: If the University
can attempt to safely accommodate
us, we can patiently stand by for
a safe resumption of athletics in
return.
College sports, in their infinite
wisdom, have illustrated that the
proper amount of time can improve
the outcome of a player or team. Joe
Burrow was a backup quarterback
at The School That Shall Not Be
Named for two years. In his senior
season at Louisiana State University,
he won the Heisman Trophy and
a national championship, then
became the first pick in the NFL
draft.
College sports also unite us
through a common love of the
game. If nothing else, the Big Ten’s
decision verified the infectious
passion that we have for our
colleges. The shared despair is
unprecedented, but then again, so
are these times.
This is why, when we comfortably
return from this problematic state
in the world, collegiate athletics will
still be there. They will embrace
us with open arms and an electric
environment for us to revel in once
again.
In the meantime, we wait. The
passion that athletes share for their
sports is not lost on us, but neither
is the well-being of our campus
population.
Sam Woiteshek can be reached at
swoitesh@umich.edu.
SAM WOITESHEK | COLUMN
Canceling fall sports is disappointing, yet expected
Distance learning
this fall will
be another
nightmare for
parents and
students alike
Evan Stern can be reached at
erstern@umich.edu.
SUBMIT TO SURVIVORS SPEAK
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ZOE ZHANG | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT ZOEZHANG@UMICH.EDU