Susie O’Brien: It’s time for the kids to go back to school
Every day we are seeing a callous disregard by the Victorian government to follow the advice of its own experts while the list of arbitrary restrictions is tweaked. Some of the most random rules have been in schools but now it’s time to get kids back into class, writes Susie O’Brien.
Susie O'Brien
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Victorians are subjected to a growing list of arbitrary restrictions that lack compassion and common sense.
Every day we see silly rules being tweaked to appease us with no evidence as to how they reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
For instance, why is it now safe for us to exercise two hours a day instead of one – why wasn’t two hours OK last week?
Why only now are singles allowed a buddy when those in romantic relationships have been hanging out together for months? Where’s the scientific justification for this?
And why aren’t two old ladies allowed to sit 1.5m apart on a park bench, but that distance is OK if they are walking?
There’s also the curfew, which no one is willing to own up to.
Who cares that it’s been changed from 8pm to 9pm when there’s no evidence to show that keeping us inside from 9pm to 5am will save one single life?
There’s also no evidence that playing golf, grooming dogs, taking a stroll at midnight and
having a house open for private inspection will curb the spread of the virus, but we’re still not allowed to do any of these things.
The area with some of the most restrictive and arbitrary restrictions is schooling.
At the moment, only children of permitted workers are allowed to attend.
As of next term, preps to year twos, year 11s and 12s and special schools are back. Grade threes to year 10s will have to wait until the end of October. But there is no medical or educational justification whatsoever for this.
The general assumption is that the younger kids have found it hard to adapt to home learning, and the older kids need face-to-face time with teachers so they can successfully complete VCE and VCAL.
But there’s nothing in four reports released by the Department of Education last Friday that justifies dividing students by grade level in this way.
The reports clearly set out the damage done by remote learning They show one in five principals are concerned about the poor academic progress of students during remote schooling.
There are serious concerns about students’ academic progress, reintegration into school life and the validity of home assessments after two terms of home schooling.
There is no evidence showing difference in outcomes between the year levels that justifies a staggered return based on year level alone.
The most detailed report by Learning First doesn’t even break the findings down into grade levels.
It says many children from prep to grade two had “stagnated or regressed” but parents of
children at all year levels say the same thing. Parents of year 6 and 7 kids are particularly concerned.
Those who struggled most with remote learning aren’t the oldest and youngest kids, but those who are vulnerable and at risk, which are spread across all year levels. Indeed, one in 10 kids from disadvantaged backgrounds dropped out of remote learning altogether compared to 4 per cent of those from more advantaged homes.
Success or failure in remote learning had little to do with year level, but a lot to do with
home environment, student temperament, school support and access to technology.
This is why all schools should be open for all students from next term, especially given that the Department of Education says they are safe.
Its website states that school are closed to “reduce the movement of more than one million students and their families” rather than because they are unsafe.
Experts tell us it’s the concentration of people that’s important, not the movement of them.
When schools did open briefly last term, there was no evidence campuses were the site of widespread outbreaks or transmission of the virus.
In fact, Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton told parents on August 10 that “the risk to staff and students in both mainstream and specialist settings remains low, with health and safety measures in place”.
So why isn’t the government reopening all schools?
Letting some kids go back and not others doesn’t make any sense and is seriously affecting the wellbeing of our young people.
Time and again, we’ve seen a callous disregard for the government to follow the advice of its own experts in favour of arbitrary decisions that suit their agenda, not the wellbeing of the Victorian people.
It’s time to turn things around, drop the nonsensical restrictions, and get kids back to school where they belong.
Susie O’Brien is a Herald Sun columnist