Everyone’s clamoring to get back to school. Children want it, employers want it and parents are dying for it. Everyone wants it so badly that they’re willing to take a huge risk with the lives of children and teachers – and by extension, their families.
Set aside the fact that schools have become far more than places of learning and the fact that maybe dual-income families should consider quitting one job so a parent can raise and teach the children during the COVID-19 pandemic. And set aside the fact that solving the problem of warehousing the nation’s children so parents can keep the train of capitalism running should not be the job of teachers, but rather, the (currently dysfunctional U.S.) government.
We set that all aside because we must accept that We Are Where We Are, and that is: 1) in the middle of a pandemic, 2) without a vaccine, 3) with working parents losing their minds trying to be parent and teacher. So we need a solution. I suggest looking to the past to save our future. Bring the classroom outside before you bring the students back. It is all explained, in all it’s brilliant glory, in my latest Arizona Daily Star column right here. If you like it, please share widely on your social media networks! And enjoy this photo of outdoor school in the Netherlands way, way back when. 
Renee Wrote This 
Greetings Renée!
Is this from the woman who suffered such a hard concussion so as to render her practically immobile upon her concussion couch? Judging by the article, one would never know. And for those of us who do know, we can rejoice because… She’s baaaaack, and in excellent form! My hope is that you truly feel as good as your writing seems to indicate.
About the article: it was difficult enough for the public to accept the seriousness of COVID-19. (Some conspiracy theorists still claim it to be a hoax.) It took a long time to establish mask wearing as a part of “the new normal”, and people still aren’t very good about social distancing. How, then, can we get the idea of outdoor education accepted in time for the start of the new school year?
How wonderful it will be when COVID is fully conquered .
I loved your article and the fact that you were up to writing such a thought-provoking piece.
Blessings,
M
Sent from my iPhone
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