The spread of the COVID-19 virus continues to decrease as most counties in California enter the orange tier. According to ABC News, this means that most counties have “2 to 5.9 daily new cases per 100,000.” Over the past year, with the COVID-19 pandemic taking control of our lives, schools across the nation have decided to switch to virtual learning. According to Steve Liesman, a writer for CNBC, 52% of students in the United States attended school virtually as of December 2020. With more vaccines being administered and the spread of the COVID-19 virus decreasing, school districts in California have started to reopen K-12 schools. According to Governor Gavin Newsom, more than 9,000 schools in California have reopened or have set plans to reopen as of April 1, 2021. There are many advantages and disadvantages of in-person learning during the pandemic.
The advantages of in-person learning include a reduction in the number of failing students, more social interaction, and a working environment for parents.
The first advantage of in-person learning is that fewer students will fail their classes compared to students through Distance Learning. Trends show that remote learning has caused a spike in students failing their classes. According to Kate Taylor, a writer for the New York Times, in Houston, the nation’s seventh-largest public school district, 42% of students received at least one F in the first grading period in the fall, compared with 26 % in the Fall of 2019. In Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, the percentage of middle and high school students who failed two or more classes in the first quarter increased 83% from the first quarter of the previous year. Moreover, for many students, school can be a place of safety. It can be a place where basic necessities such as food and water are met. It can also serve as a place where victims of abuse, neglect, and trauma escape for help. Therefore, by schools adopting an in-person learning system, they would reduce the number of students who fail their classes, and would provide a necessary helpline for victims of abuse to escape to.
The second advantage of on-campus learning is social interaction. Evidence suggests that distance learning has caused students to struggle with their mental health. According to Bethany Mandel, a writer for the Washington Examiner, based on a survey conducted by the National 4-H Council, “7 out of 10 teenagers said they were struggling with their mental health in some way. More than half said they’d experienced anxiety, 45% said they’d felt excess stress, 43% identified that they’d struggled with depression, and 61% of teens said that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased their feelings of loneliness.” Moreover, distance learning has caused an increase in suicidal and self-harm thoughts among teenagers. According to Fox29, in Pennsylvania from July 19, 2019 to March 13, 2020, it was reported that 17% of tips from the Safe2Say Something program were related to suicide or self-harm compared to 37% of tips related to suicide or self-harm from March 13, 2020 to June 2020. These statistics are important because, according to Amy Novotny, writer for the American Psychological Association, lack of social interaction can lead to depression, anxiety, poor sleep quality, dementia, stress, and premature death. With schools adopting on-campus learning, all these dire impacts of lack of social interaction will be gone.
The final advantage of in-person learning is that it gives parents the opportunity to focus on their jobs. Remote learning has caused many working parents to struggle with their work. According to Evan Stern, a writer for the Michigan Daily, “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.” Moreover, finding childcare during the pandemic has become a hassle for parents. According to Terry Me Dio, a writer for USA Today, 40% of childcare centers closed due to the pandemic, and 86% of childcare centers are serving fewer children. There are also additional expenses for childcare centers. Most childcare centers are experiencing additional costs for staff (72%), cleaning supplies (92%), and personal protective equipment (81%). On average, childcare centers are spending an additional $3,136 a month on increased expenses. The burden of these additional expenses tends to fall on the customer— the parents—which puts additional financial stress on families. Hence, with in-person learning, parents would not have to worry about childcare costs, and they could focus more on their job.
The disadvantages of in-person learning are that it jeopardizes the safety of the students and teachers, and most schools do not have the financial resources to reopen.
First, in-person learning would increase the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Lyanne Melendez, a writer for ABC 7 News, Sunnyvale Christian School, a school that reopened, only has 111 students. However, according to Public School Review, the national average public school student size is approximately 526 students. This number is 5 times the population of a school that reopened. The drastic difference between student populations shows that an average public school in the U.S would have a very hard time reopening safely. Therefore, by schools having adopted a distance learning system, they have kept students and teachers safe by reducing the contact between people.
Second, maintaining distance learning helps primary and secondary schools to avoid the large financial cost of reopening. Lauren Camera wrote for the U.S. News & World Report in 2020 that it would cost a school district of 3,700 students an average of 1.8 million dollars to adhere to CDC recommendations for reopening. While Phyllis W. Jordan wrote for Future-Ed in 2021 that Biden’s American Rescue Plan allocated $126 billion for schools to reopen, this falls short of the $245 billion of federal assistance that Camera reported the State Education Chiefs estimated would be necessary for schools to safely reopen. According to Daniel J. Willis, a writer for EdSouce, Milpitas Unified School District will receive a total of $14,099,503 in relief funding. This includes funding from the Biden American Rescue Plan, Governor Newsom school reopening plan, and the $900 billion COVID relief bill. According to the MUSD budget for the school year of 2020-2021, the district will gain about $111 million and spend about $127 million. Furthermore, according to Camera’s estimate of social distancing equipment expenditure, MUSD would need $5 million in funds since they have 10,400 students enrolled. Based on these numbers provided, MUSD does not have enough resources to support school reopenings even with the extra funds given by the government. Additionally, there is also equity to be considered because this financial toll is especially large for schools in lower-class communities. Michael Griffith of the Learning Policy Institute explained in 2020 that as state revenue from income and sales tax decreases, wealthy school districts will be least affected because they can fall back on their localities’ high property taxes. This is not an option for low-wealth districts, who will thus bear the brunt of the impact from the gap in funding for school reopenings. Hence, in-person learning creates an additional financial burden on schools.
In conclusion, there are many advantages and disadvantages of in-person learning. Hopefully, the COVID-19 vaccine can soon be given to K-12 students so we can return to normal in-person learning without the drawbacks of returning in the middle of a pandemic.