Russ's Ravings: NJ Schools Are Opening Up More. Be Patient

Editor's note: The following is Patch Field Editor Russ Crespolini's, hopefully, weekly column. It is reflective of his opinion alone.

The Garden State is in the midst of taking more strides to put students back in the classroom as New Jersey continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. Some districts are moving off of a fully virtual model to include some in-classroom instruction. Some are combining their hybrid cohorts and some are moving to full day instruction in person.

Each administration, struggling to fit their individual district's need to open under the conditions imposed upon them by forces outside their control. Everyone is aware of how much is at stake and how much is on the line.

We have all seen the social media posts lambasting school boards for not violating the rules, calling teachers lazy and administrators out of touch. We've seen the protests, the lawsuits (both threatened and made manifest) and heard the vitriol in our communities.

These hard fought victories to get students back into their schools has arrived, to varying degrees, but with it, we must renew our commitment to patience and tolerance.

• The bus transportation system will be dealing with an influx of students and still need to maintain distancing guidelines. We need to understand issues may crop up.
• Increased students in-person will mean longer lines for pickup and drop off. We need to allow for that in our planning.
• Some students are returning for the first time in over a year. Some will be excited. Some will be anxious. All will need tempering.
• Teachers will still have to handle those students who remain fully virtual while simultaneously dealing with the increased students in their classroom.
• The workload may shift, depending on the model your child switches to.
• Students going in for full days will have to deal with eating lunch there under the guidelines.

These are a handful of a million little things that we will be dealing with in the coming weeks. And now is our chance to redouble our efforts to be kind and supportive. This is going to be challenging for the parents, for the teachers, for the staff, for the administrators and for the kids. We can make it easier by understanding there will be bumps in the road and do what we can to help smooth them out.

Rather than approach each problem with an entitled thought of "you should have done..." we need to approach it from "what can I do to help with..."

We haven't been able to threaten and bully our way out of this pandemic. But we may be able to make our transition back to a more normal life easier if we appeal to our better angels.

Our children will remember how we behaved during this crisis long after it is over.

What memory are you leaving them with?

Russ Crespolini is a Field Editor for Patch Media, adjunct professor and college newspaper advisor. His columns have won awards from the National Newspaper Association and the New Jersey Press Association.

He writes them in hopes of connecting with readers and engaging with them. And because it is cheaper than therapy. He can be reached at russ.crespolini@patch.com