We Maryland residents found out today that (in-person) schools are canceled for the rest of the year, and I don’t know how to feel about it. I’m certainly glad to finally know for sure; Maryland was the forty-seventh state to announce that kids are not going back this school year, and I was getting really antsy waiting for the decision. I pretty much knew we wouldn’t go back, but the uncertainty was hard. So much is uncertain in this pandemic, and I just wanted to know this one big thing for sure.

I am sad for the kids and their teachers, for all the school employees who thrive on seeing the students and their colleagues every day. When you sign up to be a classroom teacher, you certainly don’t envision yourself sitting in front of your computer, looking at a bunch young faces in only two dimensions. And while some kids may enjoy the freedom of working at home on their own schedule, many of them are missing their friends, their teachers, and the routine of the school day.

So many forced social experiments are going on right now, and I know that’s as it had to be, but they are difficult to sit through, and the results may be difficult to deal with also. How much will education change after this experiment is over? Will we like the changes? I just hope that we take the right lessons from this time and apply them in ways that give all kids (and adults that work in the education field) the chance to have a richer and more fulfilling school experience.