Back to school in the time of corona

Trotz Corona-Krise steht das neue Schuljahr vor der Tür und einige Lehrkräfte und SchülerInnen haben bereits mit dem Unterricht nach den Sommerferien begonnen. Dieser Auszug aus der aktuellen Read On-Ausgabe erklärt, warum Präsenzunterricht in der Schule so wichtig für Kinder ist. Lesen Sie den Auszug des Artikels und beantworten Sie am Ende ein paar Fragen zum Leseverstehen des Textes. Den vollständigen Artikel finden Sie in der September-Ausgabe!

Experts say having students return to in-person instruction in schools is very important for their development

By Siobhan Bruns

1 The start of this school year is like no other in history. Because of the danger of the Covid-19-virus, students all over the world will begin their school year as never before. Many students are returning to in-person instruction wearing a face mask and observing social distancing rules. In some places, students will come into school only a few days a week or for a few hours a day. And in other places the term will begin online only.

2 One of the reasons why people think students should return to in-person instruction is because Covid-19 spreads mostly between adults or from adult family members to children. The spread of Covid-19 among children or from children to adults is less common. However, more kids in schools means more teachers and other adult staff, and more parents at the school gates. It’s not yet clear how that will affect the spread of the infection. But keeping schools shut and not having in-person classes causes other problems.

3 Some students are especially vulnerable when schools close. The group Human Rights Watch said the closing of schools has been very hard on children with disabilities. Some of these children need personal one-to-one support and cannot work on screens. And not being in school badly affects children from low-income backgrounds. These students often don’t have access to private instruction and need school for support in other areas of their lives, like school meals. But the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States has said that not going to school for a longer time is harmful to all children.

4 The CDC says that aside from a child’s home, no other place has more influence on a child’s health and well-being than their school. Schools provide education, help children develop social and emotional skills, can keep them safe from abuse, and keep them healthy by serving school meals and boosting physical activity. (…)

Vocabulary

0—1 in-person instruction Präsenzunterricht — development Entwicklung — to observe s.th. sich an etw. halten — social distancing rules Abstandsregeln

2 to spread sich ausbreiten; sich übertragen — mostly überwiegend — spread Ausbreitung; Übertragung — common häufig — to affect sich auswirken auf — to cause verursachen

3 vulnerable gefährdet — Human Rights Watch gemeinnützige Menschrechtsorganisation — to be hard on s.o. jdn. schwer treffen — disability Behinderung — one-to-one support Einzelbetreuung — low-income backgrounds einkommensschwache Verhältnisse — to have access to s.th. Zugang zu etw. haben — Center for Disease Control US-Behörde für Krankheitskontrolle — harmful schädlich

4 aside from neben — influence Einfluss — well-being Wohlbefinden — to provide bieten — to develop entwickeln — social skills soziale Kompetenzen — abuse Misshandlung — to boost fördern — physical activity körperliche Betätigung

Reading comprehension

Find out whether the following statements are right or wrong.