PRESIDENT's corner

It’s time to take a victory lap. Our school districts in South Carolina have done a wonderful job protecting our children while educating them in this past year. Does that mean that we have conquered distance learning, kept all children and staff from getting Covid 19? It does not mean that at all. 

We have girded our loins and moved heaven and earth to make things as good as they can possibly be. Have our children lost time to learn. Yes, they have. However, how much worse would it have been if we had not pulled out all of the stops and stood against the two enemies- the pandemic and a sea change in learning.

Maybe some good will come of the change. Maybe this will be the start of a new way of learning. It may be possible that we have learned some new things about education. We always knew that some children learn in different ways. Distance education exacerbates those differences.

Teachers can see how online education helps some of the students and makes if more difficult for others. Does this mean that we may have to tailor education even more in the future?

We bow our heads for our children and comrades who have been fatally struck down during this pandemic. Our science might have been able to save some, had we begun to work on the problem earlier. That will be our burden to bear.

So, what now? How will we be able to open schools completely come the 2021-22 school year. Will all of the children be comfortable with face-to-face education again, or will their parents demand online classes? Will we finally achieve “herd immunity” by then? Will we have enough staff and enough PPE to shelter the children and staff? Will the summer and vacations inspire larger gatherings with those that are not been vaccinated spreading the virus?

We can be assured that whatever calamity ensues, our schools will move heaven and earth to educate our children and keep them and the staff safe from harm.