COVID-19: Re-Opening Schools

PUBLISHED: 17/05/2020 While it might seem like a breath of fresh air for families locked down in the pandemic, sending kids back to school is fraught with many hurdles. Limbo best describes the situation for students, teachers and administrators when it comes to COVID-19 and whether it is safe to return to class. How do you physical distance with five year old’s? Let’s face it, at the best of times schools are bubbling with bacteria. The province of Quebec was ready to send students back to school after the Victoria Day weekend, but Premier Legault has walked that back considering Montreal is a hot bed for the virus Since the lockdown, students have been able to access on line learning, but with only about five weeks left in the year, does it make any sense to return? ———————————— GUESTS: Heidi Yetman - President at Quebec Professional Teachers Association -https://qpat-apeq.qc.ca/executive-committee/ Annie Kidder - Executive Director at People for Education -https://peopleforeducation.ca/about/ ———————————— REFERENCES: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/qpat-denounces-quebec-s-plan-to-reopen-schools-812637102.html https://www.bbc.com/news/education-52650259 https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2020/05/13/elementary-teachers-union-fundamentally-opposes-mandatory-live-video-conferencing.html https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/teachers-covid19-quebec-ontario-schools-1.5549639 https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/unions-school-service-centres-in-talks-to-provide-masks-to-quebec-teachers-amid-covid-19-pandemic-1.4918972 https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/teachers-union-call-plans-to-reopen-montreal-schools-dangerous-1.4919823 https://globalnews.ca/video/6875432/teachers-union-warns-against-governments-back-to-school-plan-amid-covid-19-pandemic https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-quebec-ontario-take-different-paths-to-reopening-provinces-from/ https://globalnews.ca/news/6826377/coronavirus-schools-reopening-changes-canada/ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-education-pandemic-planning-for-classes-to-resume-1.5557267 https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/confusion-reigns-over-possible-return-to-school-for-k-12-students/ https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/society-failed-francois-legault_ca_5ebdd823c5b6c9c187417aff?fbclid=IwAR2YHzeB4Qevi5VsGFbOXoJL4hlLJNbfyPDRUdRLerrQNW9oAeTon71HoMo https://globalnews.ca/news/6942481/quebec-coronavirus-may-14/ https://inews.co.uk/news/education/coronavirus-plan-reopening-schools-education-official-covid-19-spread-risk-2853062 https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/education-secretary-uses-danish-schools-example-to-fend-off-union-criticism/ https://globalnews.ca/news/6947824/coronavirus-reopening-plans-ontario-quebec/ https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-b-c-schools-reopening-on-optional-part-time-basis-in-june/