I had to get this out somewhere.
At the moment, mandatory mask policies are in place for schools in Alberta but not for Saskatchewan. Neither province has put any more thought into returning back to school than that, unlike they did for bars and restaurants to reopen: no reduced class sizes, no increased staffing, no change in hours, no change in sanitation(other than a school in SK that decided to save money by decreasing janitorial hours during a global pandemic), and no attention paid to the disastrous school reopening currently happening in the states. There was a lot of consideration given to reopen the economy and the money-making businesses, schools don’t make money and weren’t given any extra funding to help enable physical distancing and cleanliness. It is sad that the students’ only protection is that which their parents can afford to send them from home. Not all families can afford the necessary PPE on top of already costly school supplies. The virus has disproportionately impacted those of lower socioeconomic standing and and BIPOC communities, this will play out at school too. Teachers are going to be essential frontline workers very soon and they get nothing but extra demands and expectations while the world around them has shifted. It can’t be “back to school as normal” if the rest of the world isn’t back to normal. Why should children be the ones left to forge ahead, unprotected by those elected to keep them safe?
This is my perspective, but I am not a parent. I am a healthcare provider.
Hope this finds you well,
-L
Sight Unseen 