Take it Outside! Planning for Autumn
Aug. 23rd, 2020 10:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blogcutterBack to school. Back to other activities. Halloween. All those things will be happening in the next couple of months and they will happen very differently from how they occurred last year and in years before that.
First, back to school. In Ontario, a majority of parents are opting for in-person schooling for their kids, although a significant minority (in the 25 to 30% range last I heard) have chosen online-only. Supply teachers have some major and very valid concerns about safety, since they tend to go to many different classrooms over the course of the school year. Parents are concerned that the Ontario government has not provided funding for smaller classes, which obviously means more teachers (or at least responsible adults who can oversee them). Wouldn't the obvious solution be to cut class sizes in half (or at least significantly reduce them) and assign the supply teachers to a particular class for the entire year? Classroom space might still be an issue, but the boards of education have portable classrooms they could press into service and the mayor has offered unused space in city buildings as well. Outdoor classes may be an option for part of the year, but obviously there will be days when inclement weather precludes that solution.
Apparently the Girl Guides are back in business too. They plan to hold outdoor meetings this year although it seems door-to-door cookie sales may not be possible. Guides and Scouts have always been, to a great extent, about outdoor activities like camping - in all kinds of weather - so maybe that will work.
And speaking of door-to-door... there's Halloween to consider as well. Will there be any trick-or-treating this year? Masks are very much a part of Halloween but bobbing for apples had become a bit of a no-no even before COVID-19. Halloween parties? Maybe not, although Vera Etches is on record as saying that things like costume parades might be possible. Unwrapped candy or treats? Another no-go area.
First, back to school. In Ontario, a majority of parents are opting for in-person schooling for their kids, although a significant minority (in the 25 to 30% range last I heard) have chosen online-only. Supply teachers have some major and very valid concerns about safety, since they tend to go to many different classrooms over the course of the school year. Parents are concerned that the Ontario government has not provided funding for smaller classes, which obviously means more teachers (or at least responsible adults who can oversee them). Wouldn't the obvious solution be to cut class sizes in half (or at least significantly reduce them) and assign the supply teachers to a particular class for the entire year? Classroom space might still be an issue, but the boards of education have portable classrooms they could press into service and the mayor has offered unused space in city buildings as well. Outdoor classes may be an option for part of the year, but obviously there will be days when inclement weather precludes that solution.
Apparently the Girl Guides are back in business too. They plan to hold outdoor meetings this year although it seems door-to-door cookie sales may not be possible. Guides and Scouts have always been, to a great extent, about outdoor activities like camping - in all kinds of weather - so maybe that will work.
And speaking of door-to-door... there's Halloween to consider as well. Will there be any trick-or-treating this year? Masks are very much a part of Halloween but bobbing for apples had become a bit of a no-no even before COVID-19. Halloween parties? Maybe not, although Vera Etches is on record as saying that things like costume parades might be possible. Unwrapped candy or treats? Another no-go area.
