One has to feel for students these days.
They have been deprived of school sports, after-school activities and that great tradition of the Christmas pageant won’t be happening this holiday season in the efforts to keep the COVID-19 numbers at bay.
Now high school and junior high school students have become at-home learners whether they like it or not.
Premier Jason Kenney’s half-measure restrictions on COVID-19 have received mixed reviews – did he go too far and is he hurting the economy or did he come up short in not shutting down everything to protect the economy.
However, his measures in only sending half the students to school deserve passing marks.
Grades 7 to 12 students are learning at home until Jan. 11, while ECS to Grade 6 students will remain in the cclassroom- for the most part - unil Jan. 11.
The Grade 7 to 12 students can better understand why they are home and importantly the majority of them can study on their own if mom and dad need to work.
That wouldn’t be the case for ECS to Grade 6 students -- a parent or guardian would have to be home.
And the timing is also right. With the Christmas break coming in a matter of weeks, it means an additional two weeks of being away from the school and not actually missing school.
All students will learn at home that first week after the holiday break.
It’s not perfect, but at least for now students have fixed dates they can work with.
Fortunately, teachers in the Okotoks area faced something similar in March and have honed their skills to help students in this gigantic hiccup in the middle of the school year.
Let’s hope Kenney passes this test, and students get the best present of all this holiday – going back to school.
