One parent, I presume, is trying to get MOE to close schools for 14 days. This is because of the Wuhan Virus/Corona Virus/2019-cNoV. Before the parent had even gotten to this Change.org, the MOE had already in place put up/plan for such things. One might feel that the government don’t plan but really, they do. Just that there are some things that don’t need and should never be pre-empt. People tend to get paranoid.
Imagine the hysteria. As much as I would want to keep my kids indoors, I cannot let them skip school for too long. My elder kid has major adjustment issues and I have been trying to pre-empt her that she would be going to the next level and she still has issues. We are still ironing it out.
To get a picture of what the petitioner is trying to petition for, below is the text that I decided to screenshot. Amazingly, she managed to garner close to 35,000 signatures. Apparently, the logistics and other things have not been thought about.
- Do(es) her child(ren) know how to login to SLS?
- Will the child(ren) need supervision doing the homework?
- Will the caregivers/parents be able to stay home too?
- If the parents stay home, will this be considered as LOA?
- If the caregivers/parents are unable to guide the homework, will they flood the schools/teachers with message/emails/calls just to change the challenge level of the homework?
- Will the parents/guardians stop work without the employers giving the penalty?
While this closure minimise the children to the exposure, how does one keep a hyperactive child at home without going out of the house for consecutively 14 days?
How about the enrichment classes that parents have been so enthusiastic about? Cancel and demand refunds or postpone attending? Missing out on 2 sessions, assuming the child only has 1 enrichment course, would mean there is no makeup sessions because the child isn’t really sick.
Now, for CCA, can uniformed groups do an online video and expect the kids to do marching at home? What kind of CCA does the petitioner’s child(ren) actually have? Something that isn’t in sports?
Students who don’t do online lessons have always been reminded to do until the teachers actually inform the parents. So, if the parents happen to be public transport drivers, do they stop work just so that they can supervise their children?
There are a lot of things to consider and the logistics involved. A 3-day school closure means a lot to those who still have to go to school to work. Teachers are allowed to be home but the admin staff don’t have the same benefits. What about the admin staff in school who have young children who have been told that they can stay home for 14 days?
Can the petitioner be sure that the children will behave or won’t the parents be forced to bring their children to work in the end? Just so that they can supervise their children?
What about the school holidays? Will they be adjusted?
