We asked five experts to answer the question: schools are staying open but should I voluntarily keep my kids home anyway, if I can

Blyth, Christopher C

Cheng, Allen C

Collignon, Peter

Creagh, Sunanda

Hooker, Claire

Kidson, Paul Andrew

English

Research Online

University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers Faculty of Social Sciences 2020 Schools are open during the coronavirus outbreak but should I voluntarily keep my kids home anyway, if I can? We asked 5 experts Sunanda Creagh The Conversation Allen C. Cheng Monash University Christopher C. Blyth University of Western Australia Claire Hooker University of Sydney Paul Andrew Kidson University of Wollongong, pkidson@uow.edu.au See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/sspapers  Part of the Education Commons, and the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Creagh, Sunanda; Cheng, Allen C.; Blyth, Christopher C.; Hooker, Claire; Kidson, Paul Andrew; and Collignon, Peter, "Schools are open during the coronavirus outbreak but should I voluntarily keep my kids home anyway, if I can? We asked 5 experts" (2020). Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers. 4799. https://ro.uow.edu.au/sspapers/4799 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: research-pubs@uow.edu.au Schools are open during the coronavirus outbreak but should I voluntarily keep my kids home anyway, if I can? We asked 5 experts Abstract We asked five experts to answer the question: schools are staying open but should I voluntarily keep my kids home anyway, if I can? Keywords if, can?, we, asked, 5, experts, during, coronavirus, outbreak, schools, but, open, should, i, voluntarily, keep, my, kids, home, anyway Disciplines Education | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Creagh, S., Cheng, A., Blyth, C., Hooker, C., Kidson, P. & Collignon, P. (2020). Schools are open during the coronavirus outbreak but should I voluntarily keep my kids home anyway, if I can? We asked 5 experts. The Conversation, 19 March 1-6. Authors Sunanda Creagh, Allen C. Cheng, Christopher C. Blyth, Claire Hooker, Paul Andrew Kidson, and Peter Collignon This journal article is available at Research Online: https://ro.uow.edu.au/sspapers/4799 AuthorSunanda Creagh  Sunanda Creagh is a Friendof The Conversation.Head of Digital StorytellingInterviewedAllen ChengProfessor in Infectious DiseasesEpidemiology, Monash UniversityChristopher BlythPaediatrician, Infectious DiseasesPhysician and Clinical Microbiologist,University of Western AustraliaClaire HookerAcademic rigour, journalistic flairEditor’s note: This article is based on the coronavirus situation in Australia as of March 19. Thesituation may change over time.Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said government schools across Australia will remain open forthe foreseeable future as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads. He added that:ShutterstockSchools are open during the coronavirus outbreak but should Ivoluntarily keep my kids home anyway, if I can? We asked 5 expertsMarch 19, 2020 2.18pm AEDT Senior Lecturer and Coordinator, Healthand Medical Humanities, University ofSydneyPaul KidsonLecturer in Educational Leadership,University of WollongongPeter CollignonProfessor of Infectious Diseases andMicrobiology, Australian NationalUniversityas a father, I’m happy for my kids to go to school. There’s only one reason your kids shouldn’tbe going to school and that is if they are unwell.However, many parents are already voluntarily keeping their children home in an effort to “flatten thecurve” – or are considering doing so.We asked five experts to answer the question: schools are staying open but should I voluntarily keepmy kids home anyway, if I can?Four of the five experts said no-Allen ChengAt this stage no, although I do recognise that parents have a right tochoose and each family's circumstances are different.From the perspective of you and your child's health, there is noevidence that children can spread the infection widely - I'm notaware of any large outbreaks linked to transmission in a schoolsetting. This is in contrast to the many outbreaks linked to gatheringsof adults such as churches, conventions, nursing homes and largefamily occasions. To date, teachers who have acquired infection inAustralia are thought to have acquired infection during overseastravel or from colleagues, rather than from students.Strikingly, no deaths have been reported in children under 10 years(despite presumably widespread exposure) and Italy recentlyNo-( p p y p p ) y yreported no deaths in people under 30 years of age.However, the usual rules apply - monitor your child's health anddon't send them to school if unwell. Teach them how to wash theirhands properly and cough into their elbow. There may be a need forschools to have reduced capacity later in the outbreak if there aresignificant numbers of teachers absent.At this time, it isn't thought that taking kids out of school would help"flatten the curve". Short term closures may be warranted for cleaningand contact tracing, or longer closures may still be recommended inanticipation of intense community transmission. If children arewithdrawn from school, it is important that they should avoid contactwith vulnerable older adults as adherence with personal hygiene iso en more difficult in young children.The other consideration is the impact on the child - while I can'tcomment with authority on the psychological and educationalimpacts of home schooling, it should be noted that we may be in thissituation for many months.From a personal perspective as a parent, I don't think I could doanywhere near as well in teaching my children as their currentteachers.Chris BlythNo. There is clear evidence that children are less severely affectedthan adults and a lack of data to suggest that children are majorcontributors to the spread of coronavirus in the community.Voluntarily pulling children out of school will pose a majordisruption to their lives at a time when community anxiety continuesto climb. My three children are at school today.I have had this discussion with many parents, including parents ofchildren with high-risk medical conditions. There is clear data thatadults with some underlying conditions are at increased risk but littledata for children. My advice for parents of these higher-risk children,with conditions such as cancer or chronic heart and lung disease, is tohave a discussion about the simple things that they can do to reducethe risk of acquiring infections including coronavirus – handwashingand cough etiquette. We also need to stress that, during these times,unwell children and unwell adults should stay at home, rather thangoing to school and work.View author profile ↑ CloseNo--On a slightly different but related question, there is much debateabout the benefit and risks of school closures. Although instituted inmany countries, I believe the evidence to support school closureswith coronavirus is lacking – there are more effective strategies.Ultimately, if parents are choosing to remove their childrenvoluntarily, I respect that. I would encourage these parents to contactthe school, talk to teachers, work out ways to keep their childrenengaged in learning and connected with their community.Peter CollignonNo. If you voluntarily keep children home from school, you aretalking about doing that possibly some time past winter. And I thinkdoing this will not have much of an impact on stopping the spread.A much better idea is: don't go to school if you're sick. Don't go towork if you're sick and don't go near anyone if you're sick.That's not to say there's zero risk. Unless you're becoming a hermit,there's a risk. But for people under the age of 40, all the data showsthe risk of death is low.I can see why parents are concerned but unless your family adopts ahermit existence for the six months, it may not make much overalldifference.Claire HookerYes. Parents who have the means and who want to remove their kidsfrom school should not be regarded as panicking unduly. Some willfeel especially concerned to protect vulnerable family members.Their decisions are reasonable and valid; many people prefer moreconservative strategies while the evidence is uncertain andconflicting.At best the current evidence on the role of children in the spread ofCOVID-19 is equivocal. On the basis of the evidence available, theAustralian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) hasrecommended that 'pre-emptive closures are not proportionate oreffective as a public health intervention to prevent communitytransmission of COVID-19 at this time'. But many parents andteachers will also have seen reports, such as the recent report releasedView author profile ↑ CloseNoView author profile ↑ CloseYes-by the Imperial College London, and be responding to the possibilitythat schools or children may play a role in the transmission ofCOVID-19.Removing children from school voluntarily is mostly a fairly low-consequence action that can be reviewed as new evidence emerges.Parents who feel supported are more likely to engage with advice andevidence as it emerges.Teachers' views on school removals matter too. Many teachers atpresent feel they are being treated as expendable resources in o enunhygienic and o en crowded environments. While at present therisk to teachers in Australia is low, it is also reasonable that teachersfeel concerned right now. Teachers may feel more able to managehygiene practices at school with a smaller staff-student ratio.Parents who are continuing to send their children to school inaccordance with current state and federal government policy are alsodoing the right thing. The current policy has a strong rationale and isrecommended by the experts on the AHPPC for thoughtful reasons.Paul KidsonNo. It is not something I would recommend based on the currenthealth advice, and any parent or caregiver should be very realisticabout how challenging it can be.It is always the perogative of a parent or caregiver to make decisionsin the best interests of their child. You may well take preemptiveaction and find within the next period of time that closures areenforced anyway. It could turn into a much longer period of timethan you anticipated. You may jump early without being fully awareof the consequences.In the short term, it might be great for kids to have a break, but astime wears on, what positive learning experiences are they going toengage in? How equipped might you feel to support this?It will vary, depending on your child's age. Young children might lovedoing some reading, painting, cleaning, playing in the yard. If youhave children in senior secondary school, pressures on their studiesare much more acute. Supporting their learning is a very differentconsideration than that of a primary school student.It will be challenging for kids socially. We naturally like being aroundour friends, and to limit this voluntarily is a brave call.View author profile ↑ CloseNoyIf I do this for two weeks and then the government says there's goingto be a shutdown, then there's a shutdown a er school holidays, thatcould be six weeks that your kids are out of school. Can you sustainthat?Keeping them actively engaged in something that is crucial to theirlearning. That could be backyard fun or it could be reading, evenhelping out with chores around the home. There's rich learningopportunities to be had through something as simple as helpingprepare dinner or baking a cake: measuring ingredients, differencesbetween volume and weight, temperature, and so forth. It needspatience, though, to do this.With regards to missing out on Naplan preparation, I think this is agodsend. Personally, I wouldn't be worrying about it. Let the kidsenjoy learning for its own sake, or take some time to play and create.If you are working from home and have kids in the background, thenthat's a real challenge. If you are a working person, what's theobligation to your employer with regards to being a primary carerwhile working. How do you effectively do both, or is it even possibleto do so?Don't jump into it without considering really carefully theimplications.If I was still in the chair as a principal, I would say to parents "goahead with my blessing, but realise the challenges may be more acutethan you initially think".If you are able to do it, it could help support health experts' adviceabout flattening the curve and slowing the spread of the disease.I would be reluctant to say that people should do it, but I understandif some parents want to do it.For some kids, the safest place they get to is school because home canbe a tough place.View author profile ↑ Close

Schools are open during the coronavirus outbreak but should I voluntarily keep my kids home anyway, if I can? We asked 5 experts

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Schools are open during the coronavirus outbreak but should I voluntarily keep my kids home anyway, if I can? We asked 5 experts

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