Teachers protest against reopening of school

Teachers around the world have been protesting the reopening of schools, many believing that the risks of doing so outweigh the precautions put in place.

On Aug 3., the National Day of Resistance, parents, teachers, students and more joined together to stage protests to pressure state and federal governments to not resume in-person learning across 25 states.

The Center for Disease Control has been unwavering in its advice that students should return to school in person. Children's ability to develop social and emotional skills will be limited if students are not physically attending class.

Dr. Roberto Posada told Fox News, “For other viruses like flu, kids are transmitters, so there is a potential.” He is afraid that the effects of the COVID-19 on students are still unknown. The American Academy of Pediatrics reported the same conflicted view.

AAP defended the importance of in-person schooling in June but later released a statement in partnership with national teacher unions and the School Superintendents Association stating that the decision to reopen schools should be left up to the health experts.

The Council of Chief State School Officers estimated that $245 billion will be needed to safely reopen schools, but only 28.6% of that number was offered.

Rebecca Garelli, a parent and science educator in Phoenix, said “standardized testing alone costs millions of dollars, and we need that money for personal protective equipment, ventilation and sanitation.”

In a school population of one thousand, 5-17 students are expected to be infected with the virus upon return in Aiken County.

USC Aiken is three times greater in population.

The CDC advised that in order to safely lessen this risk, students must wear masks in public, practice social distancing and wash their hands regularly and properly.