Skip to content
The Times USA
Menu
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • LIFESTYLE
  • NATIONAL NEWS
  • BUSINESS
  • INTERNATIONAL NEWS
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW AUDIOS
Menu

The Reopening Of Schools Requires Specific Tools: DrOwl Is At The Top Of Our List

Posted on August 5, 2020 by David Jackson

All around the world, children’s minds are going to waste. As covid-19 surged in early April, more than 90% of pupils were shut out of school. Since then the number has fallen by one-third, as many classrooms in Europe and East Asia have reopened. But elsewhere progress is slow. Some American school districts, including Los Angeles and San Diego, plan to offer only remote learning when their new school year begins. Kenya’s government has scrapped the whole year, leaving its children idle until January. In the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte says he may not let any children return to the classroom until a vaccine is found. South Africa has reopened casinos, but only a fraction of classrooms.

Many parents are understandably scared. Covid-19 is new, and poorly understood. Schools are big and crowded. Small children will not observe social distancing. Caution is appropriate, especially when cases are rising. But as we have argued before, the benefits of reopening schools usually outweigh the costs.

The new coronavirus poses a low risk to children. Studies suggest that under-18s are a third to a half less likely to catch the disease. Those under ten, according to British figures, are a thousand times less likely to die than someone aged between 70 and 79. The evidence suggests they are not especially likely to infect others. In Sweden staff at nurseries and primary schools, which never closed, were no more likely to catch the virus than those in other jobs. A new study of 1,500 teenage pupils and 500 teachers who had gone back to school in Germany in May found that only 0.6% had antibodies to the virus, less than half the national rate found in other studies. Granted, an outbreak at a secondary school in Israel infected over 150 pupils and staff. But with precautions, the risk can be minimized.

However, the costs of missing school are huge. Children learn less and lose the habit of learning. Zoom is a lousy substitute for classrooms. Poor children, who are less likely to have good Wi-Fi and educated parents, fall further behind their better-off peers. Parents who have nowhere to drop their children struggle to return to work. Mothers bear the heavier burden, and so suffer a bigger career setback. Children out of school are more likely to suffer abuse, malnutrition and poor mental health.

And that doesn’t even touch on the economic impact of schools closing. Researchers analyzed the effect of three impacts on the workforce. Single parents, those with younger children, and those with less ability to work from home are the most affected, and thus the most likely to be absent from work or to stop working altogether. About 30% of the pre-virus labor force has children at home, and a remarkable 15% of the labor force, or 24 million workers, fall into one of those three “higher-risk” categories.

This analysis doesn’t take into account longer-term costs, which the Goldman analysts say include “negative effects from lower quality education, the lack of social and emotional skill development, increased rates of depression and anxiety, food insecurity, worsening income inequality if lower income households are less able to work from home, and worsening educational inequality if poorer households have less access to remote learning.”

Sending children to school has been a basic component of American socioeconomic life for generations. A sudden cessation leaves millions of kids at home in an economic system which is virtually built on the assumption that their parents don’t have to take care of them during the day. We can only imagine how disruptive that would be. 

Perhaps one of the most overlooked consequences of closing schools and lockdowns more generally because of its difficulty in measuring is hope. Although we can measure decreases in the healthcare workforce and economic retraction, we can’t easily measure optimism. Right now, optimism is critical. A working paper from the University of Chicago estimates that 60% of the current economic downturn is due to consumer sentiments; that is, being afraid of living their lives due to COVID-19. 

There will surely be further economic retraction due not only from physically closing schools but a reduction of hope and increased anxiety. The effects will be impossible to measure until they happen. The same goes for increases in suicide rates, domestic violence, substance abuse, and so on. These are further unintended consequences and tradeoffs that have resulted from the lockdowns. It is not absurd to think they will only worsen by keeping schools closed.

Some experts are saying that reopening schools poses a far lesser risk to children and society as a whole than remaining closed. If schools properly follow medical advice from sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is little risk of spreading COVID-19. Using tools to assist with things like health screening and contact tracing can keep that risk low. Companies like DrOwl are even giving away use of their platforms to schools for free. 

Medical experts who support school closures more generally clarify that they are a tool to be considered at the beginning of a pandemic, not seven months in. Lastly, COVID-19 poses a far lesser risk to children for both death and infection. Closing schools will probably spare some schoolchildren from infection. Whether it will be enough to justify what we may have to sacrifice is another question entirely.

You Might Also Like...

  • Businesses Reopening Must Focus on Safety

    Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, interviewed attorney and…

  • The Top 3 Mistakes Businesses Make with SEO

    INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.   Recently Kevin…

  • The Top Recommended Health Products for 2019

    U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in rankings and consumer advice, and Pharmacy…

  • Which Institutions Offer the Top Free Online College Courses?

    College Consensus (https://www.collegeconsensus.com), a unique new college ratings website that aggregates publisher rankings and student…

  • A Closer Look at the Top Resolution for 2019

    We hear it every year—the biggest resolution for the coming year is to lose weight.…

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

VIDEO: This Week’s Best of our Network

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O47JYKa1Foo

GDPR Compliance

USABR does not collect data on its visitors.  For more information visit: https://www.usabusinessradio.com/contact-us/

Contact

Contact articles@usabusinessradio.net for more information on articles on this site. BMuyco@usabusinessradio.net for all other information.

Recent Articles

  • Uncertainty Is Not the Enemy
  • Why Trump’s 2025 Birthright Citizenship Order Faces Legal Hurdles
  • AI Is Driving a Necessary Shift in Content Strategies
  • How To Get a Gig Without Losing Your Mind (or Your Voice)
  • RFJTV Becomes a Slamer and Sound Engineer With AI

Also in TTUSA

  • Former Congresswoman Talks Capitol Insurrection, the Transition of Government, and More
  • Famed Legal Expert Looks at Giuliani’s Legal Problems and How They Impact Trump
  • How to Build an Irresistible Offer
  • Partisan Hypocrisy Around Federalism Might be Dangerous
  • Technology Has Changed the Way That We Game

RSS The Daily Blaze

  • Redefining Finance for the Energy Transition
  • How To Become One of the Most Successful Business Brokers in the World
  • The Role of Respect in Negotiations
  • Inside the Cover-Up: What “Original Sin” Reveals About Biden’s 2024 Run
  • Weighting the Importance of the Oath of Office

RSS USA Business Radio

  • Return of the Zombies: How Enterprise Search Can Help
  • Why Small Businesses Can’t Afford Not To Have Legal Counsel
  • Legal Risk to Small Businesses Amid CPSC Deregulation
  • Trump’s Unique Style Puts the Entire World on Notice
  • Unplugged: The Movement To Make Schools Phone-Free

RSS USA Daily Times

  • From Isolation to Inspiration: How Music for Mental Health Is Healing the Loneliness Epidemic
  • Modern Security Myths That Keep Circulating About Keyless Locks
  • Caregivers: Smart Advocacy by Understanding Research Costs
  • Estate Planning Considerations for Exiting Business Owners
  • Quantum Awareness Unveiled: Living in Alignment With Universal Energy

RSS USA Daily Chronicles.

  • Fortify Your Front Door With the Right Lock
  • David H. Souter, Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Dies at 85
  • 3 Enlightened Things You Need To Know if You Feel Like You’re Losing Your Mind
  • Let’s Prevent Child Abuse Every Month
  • Bringing Resilience and Simplicity Into Life With MS

RSS Price of Business

  • Habeas corpus and Why It Matters
  • Why Small Businesses Can’t Afford Not To Have Legal Counsel
  • What Marketers Need to Know About AI SEO
  • How To Become One of the Most Successful Business Brokers in the World
  • Christopher Roy Garland on What It Takes To Build a Startup in an Underserved Market

RSS US Daily Review

  • Habeas corpus and Why It Matters
  • Former Network Executive on the Dramatic Departure of CBS News’ Vice President
  • Travelodge by Wyndham: Your Smart Choice for Budget-Friendly Hotel Near SFO
  • The Real Reason for James Carville’s Attack of David Hogg’s Plans to Save the Democratic Party
  • American Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected Pope Leo XIV in Historic First

PoB Digital Network

US Daily Review

USA Business Radio

USA Daily Chronicles

USA Daily Times

The Daily Blaze

The Times USA

Price of Business

© 2025 The Times USA | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme