Editor’s Note: Should She Stay or Should She Go?

And to continue this (altered) song lyric from The Clash, “If she goes will it be trouble? If she stays will it be double?”

That’s been the gist of the discussion between my husband and I over the past month when it comes to whether to send our daughter back to school in August.

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Spring wasn’t fun, for anybody. I’m sure we were far from alone in those first few weeks spent trying to hold it together for our child, while struggling to explain in the gentlest way we could what was happening, which involved a lot of “Well, nobody knows.” At the same time, we were restructuring our own work, and, for me, that included adding teaching fourth grade in French — a language I don’t speak — to my daily list of things to do.

Suffice it to say, when school ended for the year, nobody was sad, even knowing we were likely facing a long summer of no camps, trips or childcare. And now as I write this, one month away from when school is supposed to start up again, I’m anxious. We’re all anxious. This is understandable as anxiety is caused by uncertainty about the future and that’s all of us right now.

More than anything I want to put my kid back in her uniform, pack up that kitty lunchbox and backpack and send her out to be a real student, and kid, again. I’m aching for her to reunite with her friends, run around the playground and hear French from real people again, not just cartoons on Netflix. I worry about her mental health, and that of all kids right now, but I also worry about the physical health of our whole society. It feels so wrong that those two things can’t be met with the same decision, but right now that’s likely the case.

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Sunni LeBeouf

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By the time this magazine comes out, hopefully a lot of questions will be answered about what school will look like, at least in the beginning, but that won’t stop the anxiety because this situation will still be far from over — and I will likely still be trying to teach math, at least part-time.

To all the employers reading this who are remaining flexible in this time when parents need it most, I want to express my heartfelt thanks. The one thing that has been made clear is that the only way we’re going to get through this is by taking action to care for others in whatever way we can.

Happy Reading,

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Kimberley Singletary, Managing Editor

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