{"id":10052,"date":"2020-09-24T11:33:59","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T15:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mlecharbinger.wordpress.com\/?p=10052"},"modified":"2020-09-24T11:33:59","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T15:33:59","slug":"school-openings-around-the-globe-amid-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mlecharbinger.org\/?p=10052","title":{"rendered":"School Openings Around the Globe Amid COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Anthony Vidal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As September arrived, and summer got closer to an end, schools all around the world started opening. The worldwide reopening of schools has been an event like never seen before, as some countries were forced to refrain from in-person classes while others opened under strict measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US has opened schools differently in different states\/counties depending on political decisions and safety. In the US, the strategies of other countries have been taken into little consideration; however, it’s important to see other countries and their experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/strong>After having a hard time during the outbreak of the virus, Japan has recovered greatly. Every single day, Japan has reported a low percentage of cases thanks to the cooperation of the people after they \u201crequested\u201d residents to go into lockdown. After that, people did go into lockdown. The virus rates at the beginning were slow, which then peaked in August, and have since decreased over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently in Japan, schools opened to commence the second session in September. The reopening of schools has stimulated all kinds of precautions: social distancing, wearing masks, and keeping windows open to preserve ventilation. Students\u2019 temperature records are kept, and students are taken to wash their hands routinely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schools have taken a bi-day schedule where only half the students come one day and the other half on the following day. Some schools\u2019 desks have nylon walls around them to protect the teachers and students \u2014 and in other schools, lunch is served behind the nylon walls while students are not allowed to talk to each other or sit together during lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuba<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Caribbean country, the amount of coronavirus cases being reported had been low until very recently back in July when it had started growing by small amounts. The quantitative cases reported per day peaked in early August with 93 cases. During August and September, the case number has since then stayed at an average of 47 cases per day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the cases in Cuba pertain to specific regions. Some of these areas include Ciego de Avila, La Habana, and Pinar del Rio \u2013\u2013 regions in which schools have yet to open. In those regions, schools will be broadcasted on television due to expensive and limited access to the internet in Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High schoolers in infected regions will be limited to returning to school only on Fridays, and they will be instructed what to study during the week and receive Teleclases (tv-classes). On the other hand, certain schools are to remain open all day while students wear masks and adhere to sanitary guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colombia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/strong>Opposite to Japan and Cuba, Colombia has not had a low count of coronavirus cases. The provinces in Colombia with the least coronavirus cases (Vichada, Guain\u00eda, Guavire, San Andr\u00e9s y Providencia, and Vaupes) range from 222-512 cases, and the rest reach into the thousands \u2014 the most infected being Bogota D.C. with 334,514 cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, in Colombia, in-person schools are closed and students will stay home. The government has been providing many programs for people to access facilitative learning during this pandemic. For example: Co-Lab, Matific, and Oraculo Matemagico. All are apps which they have promoted as a way for students to learn with fun and for parents to take part in as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, a large population of Colombia do not have the means to buy a laptop, tablet, or computer \u2014 and even less to pay for the internet. Consequently, the children of these families will be forced to receive classes through TV or radio. Those who have access to the internet and computers will indeed have access to government provided tools for learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many Latin American countries, school reopening has yielded similar responses. Many countries are experiencing shortages of learning materials for kids, so children are resorting to not very effective means for learning to get their classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

United Kingdom<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK has opened in-person schools at the beginning of this year. During March, April, and May, the UK was going through hard times where they had one of the highest coronavirus rates at that time. Contrastingly, during the summer, coronavirus cases ceased in their magnitude and began falling to a low time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alarmingly, now that schools started, coronavirus cases have gone on streak and the curve has gone up. Starting September, COVID-19 cases have been on an increasing tendency. Thanks to the reopening of schools, more parents have been able to work and with more people on the virus-manifested streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been outbreaks in tens of schools across England and Wales. Some schools have had to close down, while in others the infected students stayed at home. For example, in Ysgol Bro Edern \u2013\u2013 a school in Wale \u2013\u2013 30 students were isolated due to a student testing positive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Due to the procedures we have in place\u2026 we have been able to limit the numbers of pupils needing to self-isolate and there is no need for parents or pupils that have not been contacted to self-isolate or be unduly concerned,\u201d publicly announced the school administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

United States<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the United States, the power to control education resides with the individual states \u2014 and some of them have decided to open. On the other hand, most states gave the power to decide the opening of schools to the counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early on in August, Miami-Dade had decided to close schools and, instead, initiate once more through online learning. During the first week, entering classes has proved to be a challenge for both students and teachers alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNothing worked and therefore it was a little frustrating\u2026 it never worked, and it was maddening and also stressful\u201d said Chabeli a junior at MLEC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, as Florida has begun takinging baby steps into phase II, M-DCPS has taken initiatives on Stage II of school reopenings. While some students plan to stay at home, others anticipate the prompt return. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were many difficulties to unfold into a lengthy narrative. As always, it is crucial to consider the intricacies behind what countries are doing, and what the United States can learn from their various trial and errors. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Anthony Vidal As September arrived, and summer got closer to an end, schools all around the world started opening. The worldwide reopening of schools has been an event like never seen before, as some countries were forced to refrain from in-person classes while others opened under strict measures. The US has opened schools differently…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,23,11,20],"tags":[51,911,989,1003,1671,2109,2784,4274,4279,4499],"class_list":["post-10052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-national","category-news","category-world-news","tag-mdcpsreopening","tag-columbia","tag-covid-19","tag-cuba","tag-global-reopenings","tag-japan","tag-national-news","tag-united-kingdom","tag-united-states","tag-world-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t