Adapting schools to covid world

 We all got up and played Covid bingo again this morning and some found their children had covid and some had been notified their year levels, schools or daycare centres had covid. Some adults discovered they had covid. For families this is really tricky and hard. For schools it has become complicated. Our teacher's union had called for the last week of school term to be pupil free time to help ease the burden on teachers. Mr. Malinauskas, our Premier, has ruled this out. 

Image : clipartion

School principals , kindy managers and daycare centres would currently have a lot to say about our coronavirus situation. We have well over 30, 000 cases and for a state of 1.7 million that is too many thousand. We have to think this out and approach it in a very level headed way.  Yes, schools are there as baby sitting services for those who work, but so are many grandparents. If a child has covid the parents have to take time off. The grandparents can't be used as care providers because of the risk. The children and parents have to isolate. 

We know what works: masks, sanitizing, ventilation , social distancing, vaccination and hand washing. As we approach winter, ventilation is going to be a challenge. Getting people out into the cold and wet to get vaccinated is going to be hard. RAH has broken some thinking barriers and is directly dealing with people who have needle phobia. What a positive thing to do! We have to problem solve our way out of this and find what works so we can all keep going. 

Deciding to shut schools early or not is irrelevant. Covid doesn't care what we decide but if we move it will move with us. We have to stop the spread. 

Schools provide education. It is convenient that  allows parents to work but the prime purpose of a school is to educate children. We have an education act. Teachers have qualifications in subject areas and education. They are trained in mandatory notification, first aid and social justice.  We had a world standard distance education unit. Home schooling has to meet certain criteria and currently parents in Australia are choosing to home school their children. since covid more schools and departments have developed online lessons for students. Home schooling means the parents deliver the official curriculum but teachers are marking it. Online learning means the teachers are delivering lessons to students in their classes while the students are at home. The parents are supervisors. 

By now, all schools ought to be able to deliver online curricula. By now , students ought to be able to learn at home or at school. Some schools do easily change from face to face to screen to screen learning. Some parents have just gone to home schooling. We need hubs where children of parents who have to work and there is no one who can supervise can go...school buildings with teachers, presumably. With our numbers we should be encouraging options to get the case numbers and people numbers down. 

We haven't even considered other things which would help and maybe we shall now. We have technology. We have social media. We have connectivity. We are used to it. Some teachers  would be comfortable as online teachers only, I am sure. Some teachers  and others would be great online content producers whose content could be shared. We have our home schooling curriculum to be a framework. We have to add online content creators and teachers and then have face to face versions . We could be flexible. I wonder if we dare? 

Covid Bingo

 Image : Reddit

Doesn't seem to matter where you are in the world at the moment, we get up every morning and play Covid bingo and then it is a lottery as to whether you get it or not. The cognitive dissonance is strong. When have we ever let a lethal virus run riot? When have people just plain ignored health information because they want to be "normal". When was covid informed we have had enough and it's time just to get on with life?

Today, in South Australia, we hit over 30, 000 cases. When the borders opened November 23rd 2021 we had no cases and the odd breakout we controlled. If you look at the very extensive health information on our Australian government health site the 20s and 30s are driving the infections in Australia but the 60+ age group are sacrificing their lives. We are using young people to carry the virus to older people so they die. Nice. We are also using that age group to infect unvaccinated under 5s who are getting the virus. We keep schools open so the not properly vaccinated children can bring the virus home and so schools are like super spreader venues where teachers and families can get covid. Is that what we are doing?

Harsh. Yes. Very harsh. it is a really unpleasant, unbelievable set of circumstances. Every morning we get up and struggle with it. Where is the sense? The logic?  I understand we had all those freedom fighters protesting their rights and people were banging on about opening the borders and  having one Australia. I understand politicians were receiving vile threats to themselves and their families. I understand politicians  said one thing and people wanted another then they got the other and still the politicians were wrong. Open the borders, shut the borders, turn the borders over. Wear the masks , don't wear the masks. Stay at home, don't stay at home. Always you have to come back to what works : masking, ventilation, social distancing, sanitising and washing hands. SA Health puts good information up on Facebook and in Facebook stories every day. Instagram puts up Covid safe information all the time. 30, 000 plus cases tells me we are not listening. Supermarket shopping, yes. The shops are always busy.  Listening , no. We have a population of 1.7 million . Victoria has a population of around 6 million and has 56, 000 plus cases. We are getting it wrong. 

Some think it is all over because they can't do this bingo everyday. Have the kids got it? Do they go to school or not? Have I got it? Can I go to work? Is the RAT showing negative right or wrong? I don't want it, do I have to stay home again. What? They were vaccinated and are in ICU? The confusion and complexity is rife. People can't necessarily get in to see a doctor. They can't necessarily get an ambulance. The world is unsafe and we are on our own. The information is there but not percolating through the population and then there are those who are just plain making it worse. 

It is currently a bit of a free for all and the only way through is to keep a level head and consult solid information. You then end up hoping the health resources will be there. Are they? This is not managing a pandemic. Living with covid is horrible.