Letter to the editor: Students must return to school

It is imperative that Pennsylvania students return to in-school instruction in the fall without restriction. Everyone has an opinion on the effects of this current pandemic, but, based on statistics, children seem to be much less susceptible to this virus.

We need to stop focusing on the remote risks of this virus and start focusing on the certain risks our children face from a lack of education. I am an educator myself, teaching a graduate level course at Carnegie Mellon University. But even with that experience, I find it difficult to help my own children achieve the level of learning they deserve at home.

We are sacrificing our kids’ futures as a trade-off against our own worries that don’t affect them. It’s borderline abusive.

Few people need to be convinced that a good education is very important. Our children need school. Our children also need extracurricular activities to build character and fitness and to keep them out of trouble.

We all need to take a stand for our youth, who cannot speak up for themselves, and support plans that return Pennsylvania schools and school activities to normal operations immediately.

It’s time to stop asking our kids to sacrifice their future for a disease that probably won’t harm them.

John Shantz

Ohio Township