I've been thinking a lot about this tweet today because I respect the author and because I think it reflects a lot of what well-meaning people who want to re-open things in general and schools in particular are thinking. https://twitter.com/ByDavidMurphy/status/1286981655157252101

I'm a #PhlEd parent. My kids are going into 4th and 1st grade at a public school in the city. I am deeply worried about them, and I don't think distance learning works well for younger kids. I'm not just concerned about them academically; I worry about socialization too.

This problem was clear from the moment we shut down. Having schools closed sucks. It sucks for students. It sucks for teachers (you try keeping 30 kindergartners focused virtually). It sucks for parents. So getting to a place where schools could re-open should've been a priority.

But it never was. We didn't do virus suppression nationally. We didn't backstop state and local governments so they wouldn't go bankrupt. We didn't fund districts so they could hire the extra staff needed to make this work. None of it. We did none of it.

Now the re-open crowd (and I don't mean the part that is just willfully stupid) is basically saying, "Well, it sucks that we didn't do any of the stuff we had to do, but you should just re-open anyway and hope for the best."

Thing is, this is what we ALWAYS do with education, particularly of our most vulnerable students. We cut corners and ignore larger issues and then just tell students and parents and teachers and principals to figure it out.

And I think what you're hearing now is not only the visceral fear of the virus (completely justified, BTW). You're also hearing an entire sector rise up and say: "Enough." We are not going to be the Band-Aid on this one. Because it won't work. Because it's not fair.

And most importantly, because you showed that we're not a priority. When you refused to wear masks. When you opened gyms and bars and casinos first, before we had the virus suppressed. When you failed to develop a meaningful test-and-trace program.

Schools are a part of a broader society. If our broader society cannot function coherently in the face of a global pandemic, we cannot expect our schools to make up for it. It's dangerous at best, catastrophic at worst. Get back to me when you've done your homework.