If you’re looking to start an argument, ask a roomful of parents whether schools should be re-opened.
The chief public health officer has determined that it’s safe enough to proceed, with precautionary measures. Because of Dr. Kami Kandola’s stance, in-class lessons resumed in Yellowknife on Monday.
Some parents expressed relief, others dismay.
There’s much to consider, but vaccinations for children are moving into second doses. There’s a camp that considers vaccines to pose unacceptable risk for youngsters, but data from the world’s leading health journals shows that the risks from Covid-19 are much higher, even for this junior demographic.
Closed schools mean that students are learning online or through lesson plans sent home, which many agree is inferior to being in a classroom—so it may well hinder education. It also means children are deprived of socialization. It means school food programs are inaccessible to those who have little to eat. It means parents are forced to stay at home, which may affect their employment, or it means they’re scrambling to find childcare, which is no easy task, especially with little notice.
Parents who remain unconvinced that returning to in-person learning is wise have the choice not to send their children to school, but lesson plans for remote learning aren’t being provided any longer.
So most of us, once again, heed the advice of the territory’s top doctor and accept that the level of risk is manageable, particularly with multiple measures, such as limiting classrooms to bubbles, symptom checks, reminding students to face forward, masking requirements and refraining from high-risk activities, including high-intensity sports.
It’s hardly normal times, but it’s making the most of a troubled situation. We did it after the first wave of Covid-19 subsided and things were rolling along fairly smoothly until the Omicron variant surfaced and played spoiler.
It doesn’t help that this tumultuous period of our lives has been complicated by much conflicting information and inconsistencies. Here’s a prime example: while schools were moving to re-open, an announcement came on Jan. 20 to inform the public that the second session of the NWT Legislative Assembly would be delayed by almost three weeks due to the risks associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.
So, students, parents and teaching staff, it’s safe enough for all of you for schools to reopen, but our elected officials can’t take any chances on meeting in-person to govern the territory—not before Feb. 21, at least.
Not only that, what does this delay say to all the doctors, nurses, grocery store clerks and truck drivers who have to go to work in person? It is a clear indication from MLAs that this direction works for thee but not for me.
We need our territorial representatives in the legislature asking questions about the NWT’s progress during the pandemic. What’s not going well? What can be done better, and how?
The legislators may reconvene remotely, via the Internet, in late February and March, Speaker Frederick Blake Jr. stated last week. What’s preventing that from happening during the originally scheduled time frame? It’s not as if Covid-19 is something new. We’ve been contorting ourselves to adapt for almost three years. The signals that our territorial politicians are sending is that they’re unable to be nimble. They’re out of touch.
That’s what all of us are learning here, young and old, and it’s not a lesson in exemplary leadership.