The global pandemic fueled by COVID-19  has begun to toy with everyone’s emotions. Students were teased with the idea of returning to school following Thanksgiving break, and now the district is planning for a return back to school in mid-January. But is this still too soon?

     Recently, many of the counties in California have returned to the purple tier of Governor Gavin Newsom’s color system for COVID-19. Newsom has also put in place another stay-at-home order which started Dec. 7, and is expected to lift towards the end of December. I personally believe that this stay at home order is once again going to accomplish nothing besides keeping kids from returning to school for even longer.

     With all the chaos surrounding COVID-19 resurfacing, do we really think it’s a good idea to go back to school in less than a month? The answer is no. I think going back to school so soon after a lockdown is a risk to all students and staff.  

     I am not the only one who agrees that going back to school under the new district guidelines is not what we really want. The district had previously planned on placing up to 20 kids in a single classroom, all required to wear masks at all times and remain inside of plexiglass boxes while in the classroom. As much as I understand the importance for safety, I believe that this is overkill, and the only result I see emerging from those guidelines is students wanting to remain online. I wouldn’t want to spend all day with a mask on, sitting in a box with the possibility of being with none of my friends.

     With all non-essential businesses closing down again, we can only assume that it is still going to be awhile before things return to normal and with schools re-opening, it is definitely going to be a different kind of normal. We shut everything down back in March, and 9 months later we are still fearing everything we do. I do not see how things will be any different after this lockdown, as there is still no definitive plan for handling COVID-19. 

     If COVID-19 continues to have a strong grip over our lives in January, my guess would be most parents would not even want to send their kids back. The fear of this sickness is already preventing students from wanting to go back but the fear of our parents is even worse. The idea of sending their kids to school so soon after a lockdown and fear that follows thinking their kids are going to bring it home.  

     It is not a wise idea to return to school so soon after two seperate lockdowns and multiple curfews because of the risk most people fear so much . All it takes is one kid or staff member to come in contact with COVID-19 and everybody they have made contact with must be sent into quarantine. So is it worth it?