Posted on by Californiacontrarian

School Days


“Up in the mornin’ and out to school

The teacher is teachin’ the Golden Rule

American history and practical math

You study’ em hard and hopin’ to pass

Workin’ your fingers right down to the bone

And the guy behind you won’t leave you alone”

Q: Who among us doesn’t recognize Chuck Berry’s “School Days” from March,  1957? 

A: Potentially anyone less than sixty may not be familiar with this song!

Back when I was young, “black,” or “white” didn’t much matter to me and as far as music was concerned … Chuck Berry, Little Richard … BSM (black singers matter). I liked them all. 

However this is not about Chuck Berry, but rather it is about sending children back to school come September. President Trump just came out and said that schools should reopen in September, and predictably those on the left are going to oppose whatever he says. It sounded like the President was arguing that going back to school was necessary from from an economic viewpoint.

Let’s look at “kids going back to school?” from this economic perspective first. 

Many many families, both families with two parents and both working, and single-parent families need to have their children looked after while they are at work . . . or else they cannot go to work. How many children are we talking about?

About 56.6 million students will attend elementary, middle, and high schools across the United States:

  • 50.8 million students in public schools
  • 5.8 million students in private schools

Of the 50.8 million public school students:

  • 1.4 million will attend prekindergarten
  • 3.7 million will attend kindergarten
  • 35.5 million will attend prekindergarten to grade 8
  • 15.3 million will attend grades 9 to 12

If we assume that those of high school age do not need day care in order for the parent(s) to work, that still leaves about 35+ million school aged kids that need some kind of day care, assuming that the parents are not going to leave them home alone during the day or assuming that grandma will not be able to take care of them.

Of course the more affluent can afford to hire someone to watch their kids, but those are often the same more affluent that can often work from home. Those more affluent are not the ones that will be hurt the most if kids do not go back to school. Going hybrid? I view this as being able to say that you are doing something, when in essence you do not have a clue as to what to do!  (“Sorry, Mr. Boss, I can’t come in tomorrow or on any even numbered day this month because my kids only go to school on the odd numbered days, and thus are home on the even numbered days!”)

If BLM really cared about black kids, they would be all over this one. Which kids will suffer the most if they are not in school? Black kids!

When you look at “should kids going back to school” from a purely economic perspective, it seems to be a clear “yes, send the kids back to school!”

The second and probably even more important reason that kids should go back to school is that kids need to act like kids! Keeping them in pseudo-solitary confinement in the house is counter-productive to them maturing normally. They need friends. They need social interaction. They need to play. They need to run around. They need to learn how to interact with other kids. As I am sure that many of you have read, child abuse is up, as is spousal abuse. Alcoholism . . . up; drug use . . . up, perhaps partially due to the fact that these borderline individuals are now trapped inside all day with their kids. For their own good, send the kids to school!

The third reason to send kids back to school is to educate them. Let us not forget that the purpose of schools is to educate the children. Is it possible to educate kids at home? In some circumstances obviously it is not only possible but potentially better if the home-school teacher is both qualified and motivated. Personally I am dubious that home-schooled kids are as socially adept as those kids that are able to escape from under their own roof … but that is another topic for another day. A lot of children, especially those from poorer families need to get an education if there is to be any hope for them. They can either stay home and stay poor or they can go to school and have a chance to improve their lot in life.

The final reason that kids should go back to school is a negative one – there is no proven health reason to keep them home. In many European countries, in Australia, and in New Zealand kids have safely been going back to school fo months. At this point it is questionable whether or not the children spread the virus to adults (i.e. teachers) or even whether or not it matters when they spread it to each other. Will someone suffer because a child brought the virus home to grandma? Inevitably, yes, and that will be a sad situation, but not a reason to keep the 35+ million from going to school.

In the end – hard as it may seem to some – I agree with President Trump

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