From Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com:

“Remote learning” is a chaotic disaster (and often an oxymoron) for many students, and COVID-19 cases among those under 20 are minuscule. The disease is overwhelmingly that of older adults. The flu is the biggest threat to children.

To reopen the physical schools, measures can be taken to protect everyone, such as rearranging/staggering classes and using big screens so that one teacher can teach in more than one classroom at a time, allowing fewer students in a room. And maybe the kids should continue to wear masks some of the time. But continuing to block in-person teaching would have very bad academic/intellectual, social and economic effects, especially for the  socio-economically disadvantaged.

And so while this will be a work in  progress,  in response to changing health data, it was good to hear Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo announce that  the state’s public schools will open Aug. 31, but with these provisions, among  others: 

- Fewer kids on buses

- Masks  likely to be mandated.

- Desks  further apart

- More controls to prevent kids (and others) from going to  school sick