To learn or not to learn

I am surprised by the debate in the UK as far as school children returning to class is concerned: Having been off since March and, in particular as far as state schools are concerned, having had very little or no teaching for the best part of the past 6 months, I would have expected that kids resuming classes after the summer holidays would be a priority if not a given. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

What surprises me most is the virulence with which some parents and teachers try to postpone a return to classroom-based lessons, invoking concerns with regard to the health of pupils and staff. Fair enough, the pandemic is far from over and infections have been and still are on the increase again, but the SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) has also made it quite clear that children are less at risk of falling severely ill, but keeping the kids at home, preventing them from learning – let alone catching-up on the missed lessons of the past few months – is going to materially and negatively affect their future career and earning prospects. And other than whingeing about health and safety, I have seen or heard absolutely no evidence that schools and teachers for that matter are at least making preparations for online classes.

What a difference to the situation in Europe: In Switzerland classes have resumed with some cantons making wearing masks in school mandatory, whereas the higher education sector is preparing for a mixture of classroom-based and online learning going forward. In Germany too, pupils have and are returning to their classrooms, although in some federal states some schools had to be closed again due to infections (the fact that the German Medical Association does not want to make the wearing of masks compulsory in schools may be partially responsible).

Yes, of course there are risks involved with many young people mingling in schools and universities, and, yes, there is a risk that some will get infected and will bring the virus back into their homes and family where they may well put siblings, parents and in particular elderly relatives at risk. But this risk can be minimised by wearing masks- at least for now and until such time that large portions of the population have been vaccinated. But wearing masks and adhering to all the other precautions will reduce this risk.

But keeping the children at home, preventing them from learning in a structured environment, will hurt their prospects not only for the next couple of years, but in most cases for the rest of their working lives. Having been out of the ‘learning-loop’ for such an extended time, it will be difficult enough to get pupils used again to a routine and structured learning involving lessons, set homework and exams. So the sooner we get the process under way the better. Our children may not see it that way right now, but 10 or 15 years down the road they will be grateful for their parents and teachers prying them away from the tv-sets and game consoles.

Not to mention all the parents which will have to stay at or work from home (if at all possible!) because their offspring cannot return to school. Here again Europe has taken a lead, with countries such as Switzerland and Germany having returned to some sort of normality, with businesses and shops open and employees returning to their desks (although there are exceptions, even in big groups, where home working is still prevalent). Unless our kids are allowed to return to school, the economy will struggle to pick up, with the obvious consequences as far as business failures and the resulting increase in claims of benefits such aus Universal Credit and Job Seekers Allowance are concerned. The cost of all of which will ultimately be borne by the taxpayer, which will increasingly be today’s youngster who will be less well equipped to compete in an ever more competitive business environment.

Not sending the kids back to school is therefore only a continuation of an increasingly vicious circle.