This weekend my family and I were able to getaway. We went somewhere where we were able to take long walks and get outside. It was something our thirteen-year-old son needed.
I’m writing this while our nation is starting to open up after the global lockdown due to the virus called COVID 19. We shut down most of our economy for over two months because we were afraid that millions of people would die. We didn’t know much about this virus when we first got into it, except that it targeted mostly older people. So we shut down the entire community, even our schools.
I love teaching youth (ages 12-18). I like teaching younger kids too, but the older kids are going through so many changes. I love seeing them find themselves. Sometimes they have to try on several different versions to do it. It is a challenging time. They have to be brave and be willing to try new things.
I’ve been concerned about these youth during this time. How will this crisis affect this generation?
Schools right now are trying to figure out how they will be able to open up next year. They want every student to wear a mask all day and to sit six feet apart. There are pictures of classrooms with plastic cubicles for each child. Recess and lunch will be canceled.
Schools are scrambling. Their budgets are being cut, and they have no idea how they will meet the requirements to open. Families are struggling to figure out what they are going to do. This atmosphere is not conducive to learning, and many are trying to find other options.
None of this makes sense. There have been no fatalities for children 0-9 years old infected with the virus. Kids 10 to 19, if infected, have a death rate of only 0.2%. You have to be over 50 to get over that percent, and even then, you only have a 1.3% chance of dying if you are infected. The only age range that has a double-digit percentage rate is over 80. At that age, if infected, you have a 14.8% chance of dying. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/
Don’t get me wrong. I understand that it can be a horrible disease. But it isn’t horrible for everyone. Some people who are infected don’t even know they are. The vast majority who do get sick can ride it out at home just like they would for the flu. And a few people have to go to the hospital, and some die from it. When I was pregnant with my twins, I was told they only had a 50/50 chance. Those are scary numbers. My doctor wouldn’t have even bothered to tell me about a problem with a 0.2% chance.
The atmosphere of fear that our government and society is perpetuating is hurting our youth and all of our future. If this generation is kept away from each other and put in plastic cubicles to learn, how will they learn cooperation? If forced to wear masks, how is this going to impact their communication skills? If they are taught that a 0.2% chance of death is worth shutting down their educational system, how can we expect them to make the mistakes necessary to learn? Learning is all about pushing the limits of what you know so that you can grow.
I’ve always told my students that the jobs they will have haven’t been created yet. They need to develop skills like creativity, innovation, cooperation, and communication so that they are ready to do whatever is available to them. I thought that with the current trajectory, our society would be growing and changing in amazing ways. But if we let fear govern our every move, this generation will most likely fall short. And it will be our fault. And all of our futures will be affected.
My son needed to get away this weekend. He needed to be able to run free on the beach. He needed to sit on the edge of the cliff to contemplate life. He needed to see other people. My job as his mother and teacher is to provide him an environment where he can take risks necessary to learn and grow. It’s harder to do that lately. But I’ve got to fight for his future. Does anyone want to join me?