By Devorah
The signs come trickling in, emails, news posts, tweets. The rumors circulate, shift, grow like little monsters. Worried mothers converse, shul goers debate, and students attempt to calm their friends’ fears, while hiding their own.
As everyone shares their concerns and opinions, I ponder on my own situation.
Reality tells me the chances of school closing is big. Quite big in fact. I recognize this, I take this in. I don’t like what I’m seeing. I’m in high school, for goodness sake. The best years of my life. Four years where I sit in the familiar comfortable classrooms of my school, surrounded by supportive friends, ready to learn, or to have fun. Where I skirt around packed hallways, where every other face is one to greet, to smile at, to chat with. Where I sit in my lunchroom, with my laughing, talking grademates. To meet different types of amazing people. Students from all places with differing perspectives. Teachers who have so much to give, that I am so ready to gain from. People with stories to tell, with willingness to share them.
School is a place of growth. I build skills. I learn. I make connections. I grab opportunities. Most importantly, I create memories like the flowers blooming come spring. Because that’s what school is… us blooming, together.
How could it close, and shut us out, like refugees being refused entry at the gate of dreams. How could these four years be so rudely interrupted, shaken, thrown off the usual path. These unexpected, insane changes that burst into our routine throw us off. It’s not healthy.
However, despite the inevitable challenges it is sure to bring, I vow to myself that I will make the most of every minute of zoom school. My learning will not be stunted, nor will my excitement for the coming day die down. The memories I will create will, oh be created, albeit differently. Because although it is not ideal, and although I will give myself the time to mourn, I won’t let a minute of my time here waste because of unwanted circumstances.
But it’s not supposed to be this way. Zoom school has the potential to be fine, great for some even, but quite frankly, it’s not where we’re meant to be.
With these thoughts in mind, I pray. Pray not only for myself, but for all the little girls and boys to whom school provides an escape. I pray for all those suffering under this plague’s suffocating hold, both real and imposed by the people who govern us.
I pray for all the mothers who get their respite and peace of mind when they wave goodbye to their lively darlings as they board the bus preparing for a day that holds so much.
And I pray, that soon this madness of golus will end, the blanket of darkness will lift off of the struggling, and light of Hashem that has been restrained for much too long, only escaping in little shorts bursts for us to feel and make our own, will be allowed to express its full self to its unlimited potential.
We need to speak up and stop accepting school shut downs as inevitable. Call every elected official and make it absolutely clear that our schools, shuls and businesses are essential to us and we will not accept another illegal shutdown again, regardless of the covid numbers!
Enough is enough. They will back down when they get enough pushback.
No they will not back down. You are not special. You don’t have your own Crown Heights Country. You don’t think the NYC public schools are “essential” to students and families–especially those who are poor or have special needs? Stop the spread. Be part of the solution. Be creative. You can learn at home for a while. Safety first. Haven’t enough lives been been lost? Pray for a vaccine.
2019 children should be accepted back in and it should be a big zechus for the school to be able to stay open.
That is 100% correct!
This is indeed an acutely challenging times for teens and all children (and adults) who need, real social interaction and education. But we also need to recognize that we are in the midst of a dangerous global pandemic. We need to teach our children resilience, flexibility and to do our best no matter what next week brings, while hoping for a better future. I am more upset of a 2nd wave of illness and Lo Alenu, deaths…. in March by the time covid spread, we really didn’t know enough about the virus and it was too late. Now, facing spikes… Read more »
Wake up. It isn’t either open up and kill people or shut down and save lives. That is the biggest lie being sold now to mislead us. The opposite is true. How many more lives would have been saved had the government ‘experts’ stuck to recommendations and had not banned effective medicine or family advocating in the hospital on behalf of the patient or sending contagious ppl to nursing homes etc… The people in charge are either grossly incompetent or willfully evil… Stop trusting them! They will lead you straight to hell as they have been doing until now. What… Read more »
Or can we just allow those at risk the option to treat in advance or early on under their Drs supervision?
And allow the rest of the younger population (who are at an extremely low risk) the option to go about their lives without harassment?
Do you want your child sitting in class with students who have covid? And then they’ll bring it home? I don’t think so
Yes I do. Along with strep and flu and pink eye. Ok?
Dr. Howard Zucker did a terrible job handling covid. He needs to be replaced. What kind of solution is shutting down school for the least at risk group to covid complications? Insanity
the ones most getting covid now statistically are age 11 to 29. Those are the highest percentages in israel. Likely similar in ny. Very few old people are getting it
The people you’ve mentioned (ages 11 to 29) are the young people who either go to school or have a job, and most likely need to be tested for it. The more people of a certain age group who get tested, the more people in that age group “have COVID”, so just because those are the STATISTICS doesn’t mean that it’s real.
Yes! Replace with Dr. Harvey Risch! Just as experienced/knowledgeable but also HONEST and courageous.
It’s that simple, stop getting tested. They can’t do anything if they don’t have statistics
Louder for those in the back.
that can cost lives by not getting tested. Just out for yourself and not following the torah in caring about others
Why the down votes? What practical benefit is there for testing?
To KNOW if you are contagious and therefore must quarantine to stop spreading. If everyone did this, we could control the virus. This is how it is spread. Please read about the virus from epidemiologists and virologists. There is so much misinformation. Educate yourself from reliable sources.
Chas vishalom! What if I need to quarantine, I’m in close contact with the highly concerning ppl. You clearly don’t care. Shame on you!!
But if we don’t get tested/get a positive we won’t stay home
Seriously? When you feel unwell you wont stay home?
And it’s interesting, a virus so deadly you need to get tested to know if you have it. Hmm.
Unfortunately testing is necessary. How is someone supposed to get the treatment he or she needs if they are not tested? Especially with the flu coming upon us.
Exactly the reason to demand access to early treatment BEFORE you get your test results. No need for the test or it’s result.
And the treatment should theoretically also fend off the flu too because of how it works. Double win
At this point people are not aware, it is to stop in person voting, so the Democrats could control the votes by mailing in ballots, we need to spick up and not allow this communist deblasio mayor to close new York city
Schools, shuls, and stores should stop skirting the rules and enforce mask use and capacity limits (770, I’m looking at you). It’s either that or the virus will continue spreading out of control and there will be no other choice but to shut down schools in order to save lives. This pandemic isn’t easy, but there things we can do to make it easier for ourselves and our neighbors. Following medical guidelines is the only choice if we want to try our hand at preventing another lockdown (if that’s not already too late).
Thank you. At last someone with sense. If the frum communities let the virus grow out of control, this will fuel anti-semitism.
It is all about elections, deblasio wants to stop in person voting , so forcing people to mail in ballots so the Democrats could control the elections , stop this closing of new York city
It’s that simple.people are not following regulations and are now complaining.
Why is there simchas beis hashoeivo,why are schools and shills not following health regulaions.this is a result of it.1+1=2 not 0. Stop complaining and start doing.gut yom tov.
No. Please think! you are being played to think that not following the illegal regulations is the reason for the spread and justifies a shutdown as a result. It’s all a lie!
No one ever is allowed to force perfectly healthy people to stop going about their peaceful business for something that will not cause them or the vast majority of ppl to drop dead.
Never mind that shutdowns are not a cure for covid.
Closing schools is very unhealthy for our children.We need to speak up and stop this insanity.Please please is there any way of stoping it.
You know what else is unhealthy? Getting covid… and transmitting it to others.
Depends for who. And for those people who it is deadly they need to demand access to early treatment instead of harassment of all healthy people. Because early treatment will save their lives a lot faster than forcing everyone to comply with something that is NOT effective.
Are you a medical doctor or virologist? There is not definitive early treatment? It is all experimental and anecdotal at this time. It is also not clear who will get very sick and who will not. A college athlete just died of COVID and a 70 year old man survived it.
Children can thrive in many situations. Form a learning pod. Homeschool. Be creative. Adapt. OUr people have been through wars, famines, plagues, and worse. It can be temporary if you are willing to make the sacrifice.
No, I can’t learn on zoom school, and ur kids probably hate it too!
Yes, stopping school has only made my life crazier. Ask anyone in my grade, school is a challenge for everyone! But zoom is pointless, we want structure! If we were told that a test is happening in a week, as odd as this sounds, we need it to happen in a week! If we’re looking forward to production, then it can’t suddenly be taken away from us!
Because instead of adults just doing this simple thing of wearing a mask, they have to see and spin arguments.
Lets just do our part so our kids can do theirs and go back and stay in school.
Allowing yourself to be convinced that the mayor and governor have our best interests at heart when they talk about lockdowns is naive at best. Look at the language they use and the way they clearly single out Orthodox Jews. They do not even bother to hide their biases and hate. The anti semitism is clear, but there always has been and will be the Jews who refuse to see it and will make excuses for them, even condoning their behavior, either out of fear and sheepishness or desire to look ‘woke’ and ‘progressive’ and ‘fit in’. Wake up. This… Read more »
He’s targeting the Jewish neighborhoods because we are NOT following the rules! And blatantly so. Simchas bais hashoeva all night unmasked?? How long till CH is shut down? Look at our own actions, not at someone “shutting us down for no reason or cuz he’s anti Semitic”
We do not consent to these new rules! Our elected officials have zero right to trample on our basic freedom. It’s illegal. We want gvt to be held accountable for their major abuse of power. And yes the masks can be done voluntarily if the individual wants but not if they don’t. It’s really that simple. And no virus changes any of the above. And please remember this virus is very low risk for the vast majority of people especially with access to hydroxychloriquine
You have been fed misinformation. You are not a medical specialist nor have you spent your life studying viruses. Do you have the right to smoke on an airplane? No. Do you have the right to drive after drinking alcohol? No.
No one is wearing masks over there and the government not bringing that up
I live right off of the ave and sorry to inform you this is far from true. Ever since masks have been required the predominant non Jewish community easily took upon themselves this requirement without an issue
He is not doing this for us.He knows our children are going to suffer ….he knows that it’s terrible for their mental health.He does not care.Its all politics.
Wake up people!
I’m distressed to read such black or white comments. While masks have become political, and keeping schools shut too, it doesn’t mean we don’t need to wear them to keep schools open. We can acknowledge the bias of the government, and also take precautions to ensure we are protecting our community and neighbors. We don’t have strong evidence that masks don’t work at all… this is a new virus. Thankfully treatment is more clear and it’s seems less dangerous but it’s not all or nothing. I wouldn’t want to catch it again. I wasn’t in the hospital but it was… Read more »
No sorry I do not agree to being forced to wear a mask. There is sufficient evidence that masks lower your oxygen levels. And I’m at very low risk from the virus. I don’t want to reduce my oxygen levels for something that may remotely help someone else.