First of all, thank you. Thank you to our leaders, who have worked tirelessly to learn about this new threat to society, to seek out and follow sound medical advice, and to explore creative ways to keep us safe. I am cautiously optimistic about the upcoming school year. In Ontario, we have done a fantastic job of controlling this virus. I’d like to keep it that way. I firmly believe that we have managed well by following the advice of those tasked with our safety – medical professionals and public health officials, and I am thankful to our government for the quick and effective management of this crisis. I am very concerned to see that our leaders do not feel that this advice should extend to schools.
I am a teacher and have children in two different schools. Both are in the gifted program, with children bused from various communities, some of them harder hit by COVID-19 than our local neighbourhood. Having carefully followed all protocols for four months, I now find myself in an uncomfortable position. Given that our leadership feels that it is perfectly acceptable for my family to be exposed to three different schools, with cohorts of 25 students, and indirect contact with over 400 at each school, not including family and contacts outside of school, my motivation to maintain a bubble of ten for my own family is severely undermined. If it is safe for children to be in pre-pandemic size classes, then I want my life back.
Perhaps the Ontario government feels that formalized education, low budgets, and a return to business-as-usual are more important than children’s physical and mental health, but I respectfully disagree. Let’s be honest – increased surface cleaning is ‘hygiene theatre’. This is an airborne virus. Clean all you want – it’s expensive, but not particularly effective. The highest investment from the government is going to PPE. $60 million, much of which will end up in landfill. Again, let’s be honest – we’ve been living in a masked society for months. We own masks and can get shields at the dollar store. Provide masks to staff and students who request them – I’d rather wear my own. Those who are REALLY worried aren’t placated by these empty gestures, and those who aren’t, don’t need them. We want scientifically sound safety measures – namely distancing, ventilation, and avoiding large indoor gatherings.
More importantly, the government has allocated increased funding for mental health, but in my opinion, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We need to take care of mental health issues BEFORE they crop up. For example, expecting children to cover the entire curriculum during these uncertain times is ludicrous, and frankly, irresponsible. At a minimum, we need smaller class sizes to mitigate both physical and mental health risks.
With enhanced cleaning and distancing, increased behaviour management due to an anxiety-laden six-month hiatus from school, mask wearing, distancing, and increased individual and community anxiety, small classes are NECESSARY to manage this without precipitating a mental health crisis that could last at least until the current kindergarten students graduate from high school, in 2034. Children arriving in classes this fall will be met by faceless teachers, changes to familiar routines, restrictions in movement, interaction, and contact with peers, age-inappropriate activities, full-day discomfort, and pervasive anxiety both at home and at school. They deserve and will need increased support, just at a time when teachers also have higher anxiety, new protocols, and increased responsibilities. Even with smaller class sizes, meeting all of the curriculum expectations is unreasonable, but at least there would be a better chance that we would not be setting children onto a path of school resistance, failure, and shame. We need to decide what the future of education means to us as a province and as a society.
Parents who can afford other options are choosing private schools, education pods, online education, and homeschooling options. That means that disadvantaged students will be over-represented in those being sent to school. Smaller classes might be a way to mitigate the inequities involved in public education, especially during COVID-19.
Public health advice, and ALL public policy to this point have required distancing and small groups. We are still expected to keep social circles to ten. Only five patrons at a time are permitted in my local coffee shop, where we stay for five to ten minutes at a time, in a space easily three times the size of my classroom. How much more risk are we comfortable with for our children? 400% (classes of 20)? 600% (classes of 30)? 2500% (classes of 25 in one third the space)? No adults are meeting live in groups the size that we are suggesting putting into classes this fall. And in my experience, adults are better at following distancing and hygiene procedures. I’ve never had to wipe my neighbour’s nose, tie their shoes, or fix their stuck zipper. I’ve never had to carry them across the yard when they’ve cut their knee, nor have I had to drag them screaming away from parents. These are all standard parts of the fall routine. I HAVE seen adults struggle to maintain distancing requirements – at the grocery store, chatting with neighbours, and at press conferences. High schools are opening with classes of 15, and yet elementary students will be in classes of 20 to 30? Kindergarten classes, containing those least able to practise distancing and effective mask-wearing, will be 30 in a room, or more in open-concept schools. A 15:1 ratio in a class of 2 educators and 30 students does not lessen the chance of exposure, even when the Minister of Education insists on announcing that we have a 13:1 ratio which will somehow keep children safe. The contradictions here are appalling.
Likewise, I can’t help but notice that in press conferences, you all remove your masks when you approach the microphone. You, who have microphones and oratory training or experience… and yet both students and teachers will be expected to wear masks all day. Is that because you feel it is more important for the public to hear what you have to say than it is for students to hear their teachers? More important than for teachers to hear the responses of shy or soft-spoken students? More important than children learning English? More important than a child trying to disclose abuse or bullying? Plexiglass barriers could allow teachers to communicate more openly with students. Smaller classes would lessen the risks involved. Outdoor education would all but remove those risks. I’d like to see a program where teachers and parents sign up for an outdoor program, run in school yards, neighbourhood parks, and local conservation areas. This would reduce the need for in-school capacity and allow classes to be spread out in safer ways. This could also be achieved by utilizing other spaces such as community centres, churches, and other underutilized buildings. I’ve heard and understand the arguments that we cannot afford this – then let’s get creative. We send kids to summer camp with young adults. Perhaps a similar scenario could work, with qualified teachers providing guidance or rotating instruction (one month with a qualified teacher, then a month with screened but less qualified staff). I would honestly prefer this to the models I’ve seen so far for my own children. I do not want them in crowded, unventilated buildings, masks or no masks.
We have seen this fall’s challenges approaching for months. It has taken all of that time for the province to decide on a safe framework. Now we’ve waited for school boards to provide details about local re-openings. But somehow parents are supposed to be able to make this decision with less than a week’s turnaround time? There is not enough information. There are too many unanswered questions. Plan for full attendance. Staff for full attendance. Be pleasantly surprised when we have more than we need. If we are not ready to do this safely right now, then take the time to get it right. If childcare is what we need, then be honest and provide THAT. Using COVID as a rationale for widening the gap for marginalized families and weakening the future of public education is a sickening and scary proposition. I want no part in that.
I call on the government of Ontario, the Ministry of Education, and individual school boards to do better for our students and their families. Think outside-the-box, take time to make responsible decisions, and demonstrate bold leadership in the face of a novel challenge to our society. Thank you for your continued dedication as we struggle through these unprecedented decisions. We do appreciate the difficult position you are in and the effort you continue to put in to mitigate risks and make responsible financial and safety decisions.
Out of the Well 