The Problem of Reopening Schools in USA
Posted on 11 Jul 2020; 07:30 PM IST. Last Updated 15 Jul 2020; 01:00 AM IST.Summary: Reopening of schools in USA after the Novel Coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic has subsided, is fraught with an array of problems. The chief among the problems are the collapse of day care centers, and the shut down of the schools, which could inadvertently tie down many working parents to their homes. The problem is fairly complex, but can be managed with some sympathetic adjustments.
Reopening of schools in USA after the Novel Coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic has subsided, is fraught with an array of problems. The lack of a vaccine or reliable cure is the root cause of the problem, which induced several new problems.
The chief among these problems are the collapse of day care centers, and the shut down of the schools, which could greatly affect children below 14 years, and inadvertently tie down many working parents, to their homes.
The pace of education is not the core problem, as a six month delay could not make any difference in the final academic outcomes of children. The first four months or six months of Year 2020, which starts in August or September 2020, could be devoted to soft skills, foreign languages, history, geography etc., which could be completed online for a certificate, without a final exam or credit, and without mandatory attendance.
Ideally, from a health perspective, schools may delay reopening until a region registers zero novel coronavirus cases, for a prescribed period (suggested by the regional or state administration), or more importantly the schools themselves are comfortable in reopening.
The asymptomatic transmission of the virus, and the sudden spurts it creates, could leave no visible horizon, on which an administrator could depend, to make a decision on the start date for reopening schools. Thus, an administrator may be compelled to investigate alternate schemes, which could preserve the normal functioning of people and economy, without the school reopenings becoming an unintended imbroglio.
The best solution for the problem, where day care and schools are shut, is to work from home, but this may not be feasible in all cases.
A more general solution requires an examination of the types of employees in an organization, which may be depicted as:
1) Employee has no children (below 14 years)
2) Employee has children and spouse not working
3) Employee has children and spouse working
4) Employee has children and no spouse (single parent)
It may be noted that the problem does not exist in cases, where an employee has no children, or has a spouse who is (currently) not working and can look after the children.
Conversely, the problem exists only in cases, where an employee and spouse are both working, or the employee is a single parent.
The best solution when an employee is a single parent, is to take the kids to office. An extra kid or two of single parents, could be within tolerable limits of most organizations.
The solution when both parents are working, comprises of adjusting working hours to different shifts. To implement this across a large population of a region, all companies must allow three shifts, as described below.
Shift-A: Mon to Sat; 7AM to 1:30PM with 30 min breakfast time
Shift-B: Mon to Sat; 2:30PM to 10PM with 1 hour dinner time
Shift-C: Mon to Sat; 9AM to 5PM with 1 hour lunch time
Shift-A is typically reserved for working mothers, and their weekly hours in the new scheme are 36 (6x6), against the standard 40, with a 10% loss.
Shift-B is typically reserved for men, with children and a working spouse, and their weekly hours in the new scheme are 39 (6.5x6), against the standard 40, with a 2.5% loss.
Shift-C is the default, and applies to unmarried, and married but no children or other categories, and their weekly hours in the new scheme are 42 (7x6), against the standard 40, with 5% gain.
The one hour difference between Shift-A and Shift-B allows an employee to crossover from office to home and the spouse to crossover from home to office. The children can stay home, under the supervision of at least one parent.
Thus, a few sympathetic adjustments in the way a society works, may help in overcoming the challenges posed by the novel coronavirus.