Should Students Return to the Classroom?

A New Survey of over 1,000 California Educators Highlights our Country's Divide Over the Coronavirus

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - As schools in California prepare to reopen, a new survey shows that teachers are still divided as to whether it's safe to return to the physical classroom.

According to the survey, 55% of teachers don't feel safe to return to the classroom, while 30% did feel it was safe and 14% stating it would be safe in a hybrid model. Although some teachers felt like they had the right tools to engage students online with virtual learning models, many others did not.

As one teacher from Chestnut High School in Huron California shared, "Distance learning is very detrimental to the social and mental well-being of children. For many, school is their only safe place, and they don't have this option now. They also are missing out on social interaction and on learning skills that only interacting with others can teach them."

Although many of the teachers' opinions were divided, the biggest concern all teachers shared was the effect online learning would have on childrens' social-emotional development. 73% of teachers agreed or strongly agreed  virtual learning would negatively impact their development.

Another theme was that teachers didn't feel like their opinion was being taken into consideration when it came to reopening, with only 30% feeling like they were heard by their district. Jason Richards, Founder and CEO of Minga who conducted the survey, and a parent of three school-aged children, wanted to make sure California educators could share their true opinions with an anonymous survey.

"As a parent of two children in high school, I'm seeing first hand how much they are missing the personal connection with their teachers and classmates. Everyday at Minga, we hear from educators who miss their face-to-face relationships at school and are looking for guidance and tools to bridge these gaps while navigating this pandemic."

To view the full survey results, visit Minga's online resources for K-12 schools.

About Minga: Minga is an app for K-12 schools to help streamline and improve communication with a safe platform to manage relationships between teachers, students, parents and the administration of each school's community. Founded in 2018, Minga is the communication platform of choice for elementary, junior-high and high-schools across the US and Canada.

SOURCE Minga

Related Links

https://minga.io/