Alternatives to School Closures

Last updated on: March 6, 2020 at 3:20 pm by Jennifer Fitz

Alternatives to School Closures 2020-03-06T15:20:11-05:00 Jennifer Fitz

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As the US starts feeling the impact of our still-unmeasured coronavirus situation, public health authorities and school districts have to decide what to do about all our darling disease-vectors crammed together in the classroom each day.

Something to consider: How about making schools more school-from-home compatible?

Having done both, I know very well that classroom teaching and homeschooling are completely different from one another. The textbooks and lesson plans are not the same, and it’s rather a pain to teach in one format from textbooks optimized for the other.

This is a conquerable problem.

For example, textbook providers could develop study-at-home resources (workbooks? video series? online study tools?) that would allow a child who needs to be out for an extended period of time to track with the class in a learn-at-home format.

In terms of grading, the child’s classroom teacher could set up rubrics for select major assignments and the local school district could arrange for proctoring of essential exams; it is really not essential that daily grades be based on the exact the same activities as for classroom students, as long as the student is moving through the curriculum. A sample of self-correcting assignments from, say, an app, could be used for homework and classwork grades.

What I propose is a long-term investment in changing the way schools do attendance. Why bother?

I think it’s worth making the change because our current system reinforces all kinds of dysfunctional behaviors. Right now there is intense pressure on parents to get their child to school, no matter how bad a decision that might be. Students and teachers cough and sneeze their way through the school year, because unless you have a fever or vomit is actually coming out of your mouth, you’re expected to show up. Even if the attendance policy allows for extended absences, it’s very difficult on the teacher and the child to manage all the make-up work.

Allowing parents control over attendance decisions without disrupting continuity in the child’s education provides flexibility for many judgment-call situations.

When dealing with problems like bullying or mental health issues, there can be value in letting a child hit the reset-button by taking a break from the social pressures at school while the adults figure out a sustainable long-term plan.
Letting parents make the call on whether they are comfortable with the school’s handling of potential safety situations takes pressure off administrators as they work through incidents in which intelligent, competent adults do disagree on the best course of action.
Even if the parents’ support network lives out of town, in situations where parents need to call on caregiving help, children can keep up with their studies while staying in a safe, loving environment.
Families may have concerns such as a family member with a compromised immune system that warrants pulling a child out of school in situations where other families don’t need that level of precaution.
Parents who need to travel to attend to an out-of-town crisis, such as an elderly relative who needs temporary help, can do so without creating more disruption than necessary.
For parents working weird shifts, the flexibility of part-time school-at-home could allow families to see each other even during days or weeks when otherwise they would not.
For students with chronic health problems, flexible-attendance can allow for needed physical rest, as well as recovery from nights spent awake dealing with acute crises.

I know very well that moving to a flexible-attendance mode of schooling involves making some significant changes to class planning and curricula. I’m also aware that there is potential for abuse of the system from administrators who want to cut costs by shoving off students on their parents, even when the parents are not in a position to supervise school-at-home. It becomes easier for the school to be so dysfunctional that parents find themselves pulling their kid from class — but then again, we already have that reality.

I still think it’s worth looking into, even knowing that it will require some kind of feedback mechanism to keep school districts accountable. Lord willing, COVID-19 will be a one-off situation that resolves itself quickly. But there are many, many other circumstances in which flexible-attendance could make life a lot easier on students, parents, teachers, and administrators.

Photo: Looking down a hall of lockers in the Home Economics Building at Torrance High School, Los Angeles, California. Courtesy of Wikimedia, CC 3.0.

Disability & Chronic Illness

Homeschooling

It's All Catholic

Thinking Topics

Previous Post

February 28, 2020

7QT: Catholic Social Teaching Kicks in During Quarantine, and After

Next Post

March 9, 2020 Driving Off the Cliff with Your Seatbelt On

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Catechesis Catholic Q&A Chastity Church Craziness Come See Me Talk Disability & Chronic Illness Economics Evangelization Facepalm Forgiveness Good Things History Homeschooling Human Rights It's All Catholic Listen to Me Survey Series Liturgical Living Marriage Modesty Not Satire. But almost. Rant-o-Rama Sacred Art & Music Satire South Carolina Spark Clutter Stick that Corner Suffering Thinking Topics Writing Stuff

Select a Month September 2026 July 2026 June 2026 January 2026 December 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 November 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 May 2019 April 2019 February 2019 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who is the Good Shepherd in Jesus' teaching?

Select your answer to see how you score.

David Moses Jesus Peter