Aarith V., March 3, 2021

The vaccines have begun being distributed throughout the world. Over 15% of the US's population is now vaccinated, and the vaccine is slowly coming into the reach of kids. But what does this mean for going back to school?

Well, it means WE CAN. But not without a few important safety features.

Masks are an absolute must for going back to school. They have been essential for a while now, but they are even more so in a school environment. There almost no chance you will catch a bad symptom of coronavirus, but that chance is always there. Double masks, while uncomfortable, do offer more protection than single masks. Bu, masks aren't so bad once you get used to them. I hated wearing masks at first but eventually started making my mask a part of everything I do, to the point where the mask gives me a sense of safety.

We also cannot have everybody at the school at the same time. The average American classroom is 1024 square feet, only enough to house 14-15 people at normal capacity. At COVID capacity, it might only be able to house 10 people. Outside of the classroom, you may only be able to have a percentage of the school's population in school at any given time.

Lunch periods might only be able to happen in the classroom, rather than in the big, crowded cafeteria. The same goes for assemblies, which might actually have to be seen from the classroom rather than in a big hall.

Instead of periods with different class members, all students should stay with the same bubble of people with which they do classes with. The avoids lots of different people coming into contact with one another and could stop a potential outbreak in its tracks.

Finally going back to school is an exciting prospect, but as with everything COVID related, safety first!

(School guidelines were released recently, on 3/15, and we are having lunch in the classrooms at half capacity :D)

Aarith V., November 21, 2020

(If graph doesn't work click here)

For people living in America, one of the biggest things that has happened was the US Election from November 3rd to November 7th. This was big news for coronavirus, as both presidents had very differing views on the handling of the pandemic. However, this election had a big impact on coronavirus cases.

Look at the slideshow on the right. It is showing pre-election cases as compared to election/post-election cases. The dividing line is on October 12 which, according to The National Conference of State Legislatures, is the average start time for early voting.

Before October 12, which is the graph to the left, coronavirus was staying at a semi-manageable rate, with no really apparent upward trends.

After October 12 (graph to the right), when most people started voting, the cases started to surge. We have broken the record for new cases more than six times since the polls opened.

A few days ago, on November 18, we crossed the 250k deaths. Yesterday, November 20th, the US hit 199K cases. As of writing this article, today stands poised to break the two hundred thousand new cases mark.

The question remains, what can we do?

Michigan recently put into effect a new set of restrictions that went into place on November 18. More states need to put in place these kinds of restrictions to keep it safer. Don't close down the whole country, just close down the things that can be closed down without putting the whole country into another mini recession. Things like bars, dine-in restaurants, bowling alleys and such. Things we can live a few months without.

As an 8th grader, I am wondering why our adults won't stop going to bars, while we kids can't go to our schools. Why are we paying for the mistakes of the older generation?

Aarith V., August 12th, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, spring of 2020 has been a time to learn. Learning how to be self reliant about food, learning how to work from the safety of your house, and (somewhat) learning how to be hygienic.

For school children, one of the biggest lessons of spring was learning to learn online.

It became apparent quickly that online learning online wasn't much of a success. Lessons were in an alien format, and many students were not participating (whether from choice or circumstance).

But as we go into fall, the choice to reopen remains up in the air. Below I have constructed a list of pros and cons based on my familiarity with online learning.

~~~~~~Pros~~~~~~

-Can do activities at your own pace

-More flexibility with time

-Lectures can be manipulated to help the student

-Can work comfortably

~~~~~~Cons~~~~~~

-Hands on activities and group projects are impossible to do

-The face-to-face interaction between teacher and student is not there

-Many students do not participate in the classes

-The glare from screens is harmful to students

This article is not finished! If you would like to add to the list, there will be a question on the Poll for you to share your ideas.

Aayush V., July 5, 2020

Face masks are a necessity. We should wear face masks in class because the classroom is a closed area and people who have coronavirus could spread it through aerosolization. It also would not be wise to have school if you don't have enough space for everyone to be 6 feet apart (without staggering school times) . The average American classroom cannot maintain a six feet distance (As shown from a study done by C. Kenneth Tanner, from the University of Georgia). Another reason we should wear masks is if we ourselves have the virus. Unless you get tested you don’t know if you have the virus and if you do have a chance to get tested and you test positive, it is wise to stay home. But if you haven’t got tested yet you should be wearing your masks for safety. Masks reduce the amount of coronavirus you emit into the air by a considerable amount (compared to not using a mask). With careful precautions, I think we can go to school in these times.

Now, some people say life is not worth living if we stay at home and wear face masks 24/7. When other people say we won’t have to stay home and we won’t have to wear masks if we find a vaccine, they reply “How do you know you will find a vaccine?” These are called pessimists, and they don’t believe that finding a vaccine is a possible task. They think we should drop the careful precautions and submit to the virus. But what these people don't realize is that in every epidemic in history, a vaccine has always been found. If we hold on for just a little longer, life could transition to normal again.

Aarith V. , May 22nd, 2020

Most of us have been in lockdown for almost 2 months, and are ready to get back to normalcy. However, it is not likely anything will return to the way it was before COVID-19.

One thing that probably to change is hygeine. When lockdown ends, people are still going to wash their hands frequently, attempt to stay 6 feet away from everybody, and be careful about what they touch. Until we know that the virus is gone or have a vaccine.

Many people will be much more independent as well. Things such as barbershops, cleaning services, and restraunts will all have much less business than usual, because people can simulate those kind of services at home.

For some businesses, it may be the exact oppposite. Companies that deliver will have much more oppurtunity, because they reduce the amount of dangewr by limiting your exposure (which you should be doing!). These types of companies include Amazon, UberEats, GrubHub, and InstaCart.

We have a long way to go before attending mass gatherings, at least at full capacity. Things like movie theatres and restraunts may only operate at half capacity, for possible higher prices.

To conclude, some of the things I think will change post-COVID are

-Hygeine

-Business Success

-Mass Gatherings

Aarith V., April 3, 2020 (K7)

Many things have not been the same since the world shut down. Work, leadership, communication, and our day-to-day normalcy. One of the biggest things is education. Youths all around are having to be taken out of their schools for the safety of themselves and their community. But schools will have to come back at some point. This brings up a question. As safety modifications are being added to almost every public place in the world, what will schools look like when we return for our education?

First off, hygiene is a must. I think masks should stay on while you are in school, and you should be using hand sanitizer at the beginning of every class period. Even though you are wearing a mask, make sure to cough into your elbow or a handkerchief. Just maintain simple hygiene.

Another thing schools could do is stagger commute and school times. For example, only half of the students go to school one day, and get work for two days so they can work at home. This way, kids in classrooms can stay six feet apart at all times as well as having work to do everyday.

It would also do well to have an abundance of caution as you go to school. If you start feeling symptoms, you should be able go home and then get tested ASAP. This way, if you do indeed have coronavirus, you infect as few people as possible. Schools need to have this kind of flexibility with their students in order to keep as many people as possible safe.

I want to bring up a slightly weird idea that I believe will actually solve some problems about students being in close proximity. It is the idea of portable desks. If students each have their own desk which they can carry around to classes, then the problem of shared desks is solved. This way, we do not waste things like wet wipes, which otherwise would be used after every class period to clean the desks. Also, with portable desks, it would be easy to move around to comply with social distancing regulations.

And lastly, following that train of thought, students should be keeping all personal items on them. This would prevent the use of lockers, which keep students in close proximity. This would also make class commute more efficient, thereby giving less chances for students and teachers to get infected.

In summary, the 5 ideas I propose for post-COVID school reform are:

- Keep up basic hygiene

- Reduce how many people go to the school buildings

- Keep infected isolated

- Use portable desks

- Keep personal items on you at all times