Regardless of your COVID-19 feelings, just keep schools closed (Opinion)

This not about whether or not you believe that COVID-19 really does exist or if it's just the glorified flu. This is not about whether you believe we should be wearing masks or not. It's not even about whether it's safe to open the schools in New Jersey. This is about why, when all is said and done and the schools ending up closing way too soon, it will just be an exercise in futility. We have enough of that in New Jersey already.

So far in the last few days, we have 375 teachers in the Elizabeth School District who refuse to return, the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School is not making his kids wear masks in 85 degree heat and the Butler School District is going to require students and teachers to wear armbands to take their temperatures. All this so that students can be miserable and parents can be paranoid.

How long do you think these paranoid parents are going to be putting up with this? How long before both students and teachers start calling out? What exactly are we trying to accomplish by opening the schools? If the thought process is to give kids a sense of normalcy, forget it. There is nothing normal about walking around with a mask on while staying six feet away from your fellow classmates and teachers. If anything, it's abnormal and will screw up your child's vision of school, especially if they're younger.

Look what's happening with sports. Basketball and hockey are being played in a bubble that you and your children are not living in. Baseball games get canceled every week and if I were a betting man on any one of the thousand apps that were now available, I would put the over/under of schools staying open at about six weeks. If, or I should say WHEN they close, all that time and effort to get them open will have gone for nothing.

Better we should accomplish something. Let's make online learning the best it could possibly be so that we can eliminate snow days and maybe even allow choice students to get an education somewhere other than where they live and not have to worry about transportation.

The only thing we can accomplish by opening schools if to make those that want it feel like they got their way, and they will...for about six weeks.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise. Any opinions expressed are Steve's own. Steve Trevelise is on New Jersey 101.5 Monday-Thursday from 7pm-11pm. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.

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