Reader opinion The coronation situation at my child’s school is dire, and many students are left without both face-to-face and distance learning

Opinion|Reader’s opinion

My child had time to go to school exactly three days after returning from the Christmas holidays. He then contracted a corona infection. One-third of the school’s teachers are absent, and there are only a third of students left in my child’s class.

I understand the importance of contact teaching, but even in this chosen option, it will not materialize if everyone is crowned. Now many are left without both face-to-face and distance learning. Assessing primary school contact as a low-risk activity is also in stark contrast to reality in many places.

In the current difficult situation, distance learning should be possible. According to a publication by the Corona Working Group on the Child Strategy, some children are even better off in distance learning when the workload of the school environment disappears. The majority of parents of special children hoped that distance learning would be one way of organizing teaching in the future.

Even if there had been a shift to distance learning, the mistakes of spring 2020 would not have had to be repeated. This time, we could have targeted teaching support to children and families who especially need it. This would also have given extra time to administer the first doses of the vaccine. Even a single dose of vaccine would provide significantly better protection against subsequent complications.

The situation certainly varies from region to region and even from school to school. At the grassroots level, schools and families are best placed to assess the situation themselves. Children, families and school staff are also among the first victims – they should be listened to carefully.

Elias Vartio

Father of the family, lawyer of the disability organization

Helsinki

Reader opinions are speeches written by HS readers, selected and delivered by HS’s editorial staff. You can leave a comment or read the principles of writing at www.hs.fi/kirjtamielipidekirjoitus/.