China Overseas Chinese Network, August 27th, title: It's the "school season" again, how worried are the Chinese parents in the United States?
In September, can the beast be returned to the cage?
For most Chinese parents in the United States, this moment in previous years was a wonderful time to survive the darkness and bring the baby and usher in the dawn of victory.
Parents can finally relax and go to their careers with peace of mind.
However, since the new crown virus disrupted this normal rhythm, Chinese parents are still making difficult choices between whether to go to school or not even when the school starts.
In September of this year, the situation did not seem to have changed much, and the US epidemic situation remained severe.
According to the latest data in August, in the past four weeks, 90% of the positive cases in New York City were caused by the delta variant virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States has listed New York City as a "highly" spread area.
Even so, New York City public schools are still scheduled to fully open on September 13, and the city government has repeatedly emphasized that there will be no online courses in the new school year, and all teachers and students must return to school.
On August 12, the Palm Beach County School District in Florida announced that more than 130 teachers and students in the school district have been infected with the new crown in the first two days of school, and 440 students are currently under quarantine.
The school district also stated that 6394 local students chose not to wear a mask to go to school, accounting for 3.8%.
On the one hand, the epidemic is heating up and mutated viruses are coming on fiercely; on the other hand, hate crimes against Asians have intensified, and vicious incidents have been staged frequently.
Under such a complicated situation, many Chinese parents are caught in multiple anxieties. Is this "learning" in the end?
How to go?
Virus is dangerous, Chinese parents tend to be conservative
As the start date of the new school year gets closer and closer, although the government hopes that students will be able to return to school in the new school year, some Chinese parents still have a conservative attitude. Considering that the situation will inevitably change before the start of school, some parents have even delayed Buy back-to-school supplies for your children.
Data map: On August 3, local time, customers were shopping in a mall in San Francisco, California, USA.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Guanguan
Ms. Li, a Chinese parent in Queens, New York, said that her daughter will be promoted to the first grade at the beginning of school.
Although she doubts whether low-grade children can abide by the rule of wearing masks all the time in school, she has recently made back-to-school purchases for her children.
However, some parents of the daughter’s kindergarten classmates plan not to go back to school for the time being, but to postpone it until the end "it depends on the situation."
Ms. Chen, a Chinese parent in North Carolina, said that children under the age of 12 have not yet been vaccinated. In addition, the vast majority of people no longer wear masks. Children go to physical schools and the risk of contracting the mutant virus is still very high. High, so that she can not be completely relieved.
Mr. Cheng, a parent in Manhattan, said that he has two elementary school children and has been studying at home since the beginning of the epidemic.
The two children are introverted, and he is worried that if they do not go back to school, the children will have social barriers.
He has now begun to train two children to wear masks at home, and they cannot take them off without hearing instructions from adults, hoping to ensure the children's safety and prevention of the epidemic after school starts.
There is also news that hundreds of New York teachers and parents have signed a petition online, requesting that the city government prohibit any unvaccinated persons over 12 years old from entering teaching places in the new school year, strictly enforce the use of masks, social distancing, and continue to provide remote access in the new school year. teaching.
The mutated virus is raging and brings great hidden dangers to the safe start of school. Parents' worries are not unreasonable.
Discrimination against Asians frequently raises concerns
According to a latest report on August 12, during the new crown epidemic, nearly 10,000 incidents of discrimination against Asians were reported across the United States.
The report also found that verbal harassment and avoidance accounted for a large proportion of all incidents, followed by physical attacks, ranking third, and the proportion increased greatly in 2021, from 10.8% last year to this year Of 16.6%.
With the outbreak and spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, incidents of discrimination and violence against Asian groups in American society have surged.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Guanguan
The frequent occurrence of hatred of Asians has caused Chinese parents to worry about the personal safety of their children on campus in the new semester.
Mr. Cheng of Manhattan said that parents can train their children to wear masks, but they cannot ensure that their children will not be affected by anti-Asian hatred after school starts. "What we are most worried about now is that children will be bullied at school because they are Chinese."
Ms. Liang, a Chinese parent from Alhambra, said that her move to "send her children to learn Kung Fu three years ago" was very wise.
Especially after the outbreak, public security has gone from bad to worse. Under the advice of the coach, she and the child’s father also learned some self-defense skills together so that they can respond quickly in the event of an accident and better protect the child and themselves.
How to protect yourself when you go to school?
To effectively prevent the spread of the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidelines on July 27.
The guidelines suggest that in areas where the epidemic has surged, people who have received the vaccine should continue to wear masks indoors. Teachers, students, and school visitors are advised to wear masks indoors regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not.
On July 30, North Carolina Public Schools also released the latest public health guidelines.
The guidelines stated that schools should require all students and staff to wear masks indoors; at the same time, it is strongly recommended that schools take the responsibility of encouraging staff, students over 12 years of age and their families to vaccinate, and strengthen the protection of students and staff.
Data map: Citizens of New York State wear masks when shopping in a supermarket on Long Island.
A few days ago, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask policy, suggesting that people who have been vaccinated against the new crown pneumonia still need to wear masks indoors in high-risk areas.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan
In the general environment of the normalization of the epidemic, some Chinese parents also said that following nature and taking good care of protection is the first priority.
Ms. Xie, a single mother who must go to work to earn a living, said that letting her children go to school is the best life option.
She said that now everyone’s awareness of epidemic prevention has been greatly improved, and it is time to return to normal life.
Chinese mother Ms. Dong said that her two children miss school very much, especially her daughter is going to attend high school this year, which is the last year before university, and she needs a physical school life to get along with classmates; and her son is going to junior high school this year. Just entering the new school, she plans to let both of them go back to school after school starts in September, but at the same time, she will ensure that the children wear masks when they go out and wash their hands frequently to strengthen immunity.
Pity the parents of the world.
At the moment, facing multiple threats such as viruses and discrimination, it is undoubtedly a difficult and required topic before Chinese American parents.
No matter what choice is made, it is a helpless move for parents under the epidemic.
Finally, Xiaoqiao hopes that the haze of the epidemic will dissipate as soon as possible and that children can study and play on campus without worry. This is probably the voice of the majority of Chinese parents.
(Source of the manuscript: China Overseas Chinese Network WeChat Official Account; ID: qiaowangzhongguo; Source: China News Network, China Overseas Chinese Network, Reference News Network, US "Sing Tao Daily", US "World Journal", etc.; Author: Wang Qin)