“Is the class really safe?” Parents’ anxiety increases due to group infection at IEM International School

Input 2021.01.25 11:19

“When I see a corona examination and wearing a mask at home, my blood dries out. I can’t even make contact with my friend wearing a mask at school, so I feel relieved to take online classes while looking at the face of a friend who doesn’t wear a mask at home.”

While the Ministry of Education is actively promoting classes for the new semester in March, the outbreak of a coronavirus group infection in an unauthorized educational facility related to a religion in Daejeon has raised concerns about attending school classes among parents. Parents insist that they should give choices rather than force them to attend school.

Earlier, the government decided to expand classes at school, fearing that problems such as learning gaps and caring gaps would prolong. On the 23rd, at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, Prime Minister Chung Sye-gyun ordered the Ministry of Education to review plans for the new semester’s summit. He said, “There are concerns about learning gaps due to the lengthening of remote classes, and the burden of caring for parents is increasing,” he said. “I am worried about the lack of sociality and depression of children who have not met their friends for a long time.”

A study found that the quarantine effect of stopping school was not great. According to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) announcement, children and adolescents account for only 8% of corona confirmed cases, and the coronavirus is less infectious for those under the age of 10. According to the results of a study by Eun-gyeong Chung, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a research team from the Department of Social Medicine, Hallym University Medical School, only 2.4% of the confirmed cases were infected in school from May 1 to July 12, last year, when classes resumed.

Accordingly, a consensus was formed among parents that the attendance classes should be increased, but concerns about infection in the school are increasing again as group infections in educational facilities spread in Daejeon and Gwangju last weekend.

According to the city of Daejeon on the 25th, a total of 127 corona confirmed cases were poured out until the day before at IEM International School in Daeheung-dong, Jung-gu. This school is an unlicensed educational facility operated by the Korea Next Generation Movement Headquarters (IM) Mission with the aim of fostering missionaries. A total of 159 students, including 122 students and 37 faculty members, were confirmed in Daejeon after the school’s students, patient 234 in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do and 389 in Pohang, Gyeongbuk, were confirmed.

In Gwangju Metropolitan City, 24 confirmed patients related to TCS Ace International School, an educational facility for the same purpose, were confirmed by the day before.

Then, there are concerns among parents that they have to postpone school classes again.

“Even if the children are not prone to coronavirus, it seems that they will not attend school in March in the context of an international school group infection with the mutant virus,” said A, a parent of 5th grade elementary school. Didn’t you do it?” He said, “I can’t understand why I’m going to go to school. I’m worried about my child’s sociality, but health is my top priority,” he said.

Alternatives were suggested, such as leaving an unlimited number of experiential learning days that allow attendance to be recognized even without attending school, or concurrently taking both school and remote classes at the same time. Mr. B, who has a 3rd grader and 7-year-old child in elementary school, said, “It is difficult to take care of the two children at home, but I want to keep them at home until they are safe.” “Isn’t it necessary to improve the system so that families can take care of them at home?”

Internet Mom Café also said, “I think I forgot to mention the’postponement of the SAT’ because of an infection in the school during class. To expand the class, it would be better if only the children who want to attend school and children who are studying at home should also acknowledge attendance. It should be possible to select school according to the needs of the family. If only the desired family goes to school, the classroom density will be solved to some extent.”

Currently, at step 2.5 of social distancing in the metropolitan area, only one-third of all students in kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools can attend school. The Ministry of Education is expected to announce plans to expand school attendance classes in the lower grades of elementary school within this week.