The scientific point on the coronavirus
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“We cannot say that children are not contagious”
“You cannot imagine for a minute that we will be able to respect social distancing in primary school,” said this school teacher of children aged 4 to 6. “We are taken for daycares, to allow parents to revive the economy when they can protect themselves by continuing mostly teleworking. For us it’s dangerous. There is no scientific evidence today to say that children are not contagious. “
Read about it:
The reopening of schools, “a decision more political than scientific”
Teachers therefore find themselves in a paradox. There is a will to reopen in some, especially to help pupils in difficulty, those who suffer the most from confinement and who most need school humanely and pedagogically. But, logistically, it gets stuck. Classes of 24 or more students cannot meet health standards.
The press briefing from the Geneva government on Friday did not provide an answer on the terms of the reopening. Anne Emery-Torracinta said she was awaiting clarification from the Federal Council, “which should arrive in the next two weeks”. She stressed that “opening schools does not mean that on May 11 the classes will be full”. She also did not clarify the question of the end-of-year exams, but wanted to reassure the students: “If they are maintained, they will only relate to what was done in class.”
Unions call for end of exams
On this point, pending the decisions of the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Directors of Public Education, the unions are positioning themselves. “We are in favor of abolishing compulsory and post-compulsory end-of-study exams. The year will be validated, the promotion of the student will be done in this case on the basis of the marks acquired and validated in the first semester, with a great tolerance for borderline cases ”, asks Cora Antonioli, teacher and president of the SSP teaching Vaud .
For maturities, at the end of gymnasium or high school, the organization of exams seems even more complicated, the reopening of secondary II schools is currently scheduled for June 8. In this case, what is the point of reopening schools? “The priority is to recreate a link with the students who dropped out, we lost a lot of students during this period of confinement.”
The union of French-speaking teachers in turn requests that the reopening decision, which will be confirmed on April 29, be supported by a scientific guarantee, in particular with regard to the potentially vector role of young people. “Health security is the priority and, without guarantees on this subject, the reopening of schools must be excluded,” he demands. School must not become the vector of a new pandemic. “
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Three weeks to reinvent the school in times of pandemic
No discount bin
The deputy to the Geneva Grand Council Jean Romain does not have a bad eye on the reopening of classes. “We are faced with something completely new, all the scientists admit besides to be in a total blur. Experts are not in a position to say what should be done or what everyone should agree on. But I don’t have the feeling that the teachers are guinea pigs, they have been protected and continue to be protected by our governments ”. For the liberal-radical, everyone has an interest in the economy starting again, and it is wrong to claim that the teachers are sent to the front, “we are not at war”.
Jean Romain calls to put things into perspective: a young person’s school career will not deteriorate if he misses a term on a course of several years. “What would be serious would be to lower the requirement for diplomas. We shouldn’t issue a low-cost bin that a generation that can do nothing could drag on all their lives. It would be catastrophic. ”
Let us also underline this decision by Nuria Gorrite in the canton of Vaud concerning child day care networks. From April 27, parents who have to work at their usual place of work will be able to drop off their children in daycare. Parents who are teleworking will also be able to benefit from a reception, if space is available.
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