Last week I saw a picture of the White House lawn covered with pairs of nurse shoes, nurses who have died from working with COVID-19 patients.

I will not be surprised if sometime in the fall we see teachers’ shoes so displayed.

Can someone explain why on one page of the newspaper we see that COVID-19 is still surging and on another page we see the call to open schools? Oh, I forgot, “It’s the economy, stupid!” Parents need to go back to work!

If schools reopen this fall it will not be business as usual. Students will be expected/required to stay in their seats at their desks all day, no gym, no cafeteria, no group work. Can you visualize that? Neither can I. The very idea is more like torture than school. Kids are not wired for these restrictions.

Then there is the possibility that staff will be infected by child carriers. There is much evidence that a significant percentage of children carry the virus without showing signs. A large proportion of school personnel is over 50 years of age and vulnerable

It could get ugly. As one who loved teaching for over 25 years, I am sad that the usual back-to-school excitement has been replaced by dread.

Kathryn Carriera

Groton