by Elizabeth Yoder

            As the coronavirus is striking again reaching new record highs, the question going through everyone’s mind is what is going to start shutting down again? This is a question that leaders all over the world are facing and are forced to make the hard decision on what needs to close again.

            Looking at some of the countries in Europe that have shut we can see that most of those countries closed their restaurants and bars but kept their schools open for students to come and learn. They value education highly and think that it is important, especially for younger students, to be able to have that social interaction while they are learning so they can use those social interaction skills in the future. Students cannot gain those social interaction skills while they are doing their education online.

            However, some of the states in the United States are doing things a little differently. For example, the article brings up New York and talks about how New York is closing the schools and leaving restaurants and businesses open. The United States also thinks that education is important, but some of these cities are quicker to close schools then businesses because they are worried about the finances businesses face and don’t want more businesses to close for good so they will try to keep those open instead. Meanwhile, some other states are taking a similar approach to the countries in Europe and are keeping the schools open while shutting down businesses and restaurants. They also think that by closing the schools, it is keeping more families safe because the coronavirus will not be spread through schools.

            What are your thoughts on these plans that leaders both in Europe and the United States have to decide? Do you think it is more important to keep kids in school so they can have that social interaction while they get their education in person, or is it more important to keep businesses and restaurants open so they don’t have to worry about financial problems as much or the fear of closing for good if they don’t have the money to keep paying their bills?