No School, No Sports
There used to be a rule in Iowa K-12 schools that made sense…if you weren’t in school because you were sick, you couldn’t be in that night’s sporting event or music performance. Similarly, if there was no school in a district because of inclement weather, the practices or games for that night were also off.
The idea was if whatever situation was bad enough to prohibit students from gathering in a classroom for curricular learning, then it was bad enough to prohibit extra-curricular activities, too.
And so it is now, in this era of COVID-19 and virtual learning. Some school districts say the risk of infection is so bad, all learning has to be done remotely, virtually, on line. The state education department, the boys’ athletic association and girls’ athletic union, all have agreed that any district that is all-virtual cannot participate in extra-curricular practices or activities.
Not surprisingly, this has upset students and fans, who say it’s not fair they can’t play sports and the like. They say they have undertaken measures to be safe, so why can’t they play?
This is a bit simplistic, but not by much…if they are able to safeguard for sports with close physical contact, how is it that they aren’t able to safeguard in a stable environment like a classroom?
It sounds like trying to have it both, or all, ways…school from home, which professionals concede is less effective than in-person learning, but also the fun of football, volleyball, cross country, music, and drama. That doesn’t seem to line up.
I feel very badly for these young people, who will forever lose proms, graduations, and interacting with fellow students. It’s tempting to say, “enough”, and let them gather for sports.
But if it’s truly so bad in a district that you can’t meet for the primary purpose of a school, then you shouldn’t be allowed to meet for the secondary purposes, either.News/Talk 1540 KXEL · Iowa Politics — Wed. Sep. 09, 2020
