As the risk of the coronavirus decreases, more schools have started to reopen gradually. Some schools chose to reopen all at once while others chose to have a “hybrid” schedule where students are partially online. 

     Harford County Public Schools chose the latter. However, HCPS made this new schedule optional for students so students can keep learning online without going inside the school at all if that is what they choose. 

    This optional in-person schooling causes the teachers to have to multitask between teaching the students in the classroom and those that are online since it would be very difficult to be able to pay attention to both, let alone see and answer all questions. These teachers also need to find a way to teach where the lesson could be seen by both in-person and online students.

     In addition, teaching with a mask on while not being near the computer, depending on the computer, could make the sound quality worse for online students. These provide more limitations to the ability to talk to teachers than before as well as distractions for both the teachers and students.

    On the bright side, this partial reopening leads to some possible mental health benefits. For example, students that have not been able to see many people are given the opportunity to socialize with friends and classmates in person.

     Furthermore, students may be able to ask teachers for individual help if needed. Students could finally get to know their teachers outside of the internet and vice versa while students can start to establish a healthy morning routine again.

    There is a greater risk of spreading the corona virus in classrooms, bus rides, and unsanitized materials, especially with younger kids. Harford County still has cases of the coronavirus and there are plenty of individuals in a school environment with weakened immune systems or something else that could increase the chances of long-term damage with the coronavirus, like asthma. 

     Along with that, many individuals also live with people that could have long-term damage from having COVID-19, so people like this should not be forced to risk getting the virus.

    In-school learning should not be required unless a vaccine for COVID-19 is widely available. But the partial and optional in-school learning seems to be a very confusing learning environment. Even if the in-school students just go on their laptops to see the lesson, that could create sound issues among other problems. 

     Therefore, the hybrid schedule that is currently in place is the same effectiveness as online school full-time. Going back to school full-time when there is a widely accessible COVID-19 cure or  vaccine is the most plausible solution.

HCPS is learning how to get through this pandemic together!

Source: https://www.hcps.org/hcpstogether/