Across America, despite strikingly infinitesimal numbers – and the scientific data that children are not vulnerable to catching the virus or are significant spreaders of it, politicians and teachers are demanding continued school lockdowns, claiming reopening would place undue risks on students and staff.
Among those representing the Fear and Hysteria of schools reopening is Los Angeles School District Superintendent Austin Beutner, who said, “A 10-year-old student might have a 30-year-old teacher, a 50-year-old bus driver, or live with a 70-year-old grandmother. All need to be protected.”
In the U.K., as in the U.S., Fear and Hysteria reign as evidenced by an open letter published last month that was signed by over 1,500 members of the U.K.’s Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Care. In the letter, it claimed allowing young people to return to school risks “scarring the life chances of a generation of young people.”
As reported last week in the Trends Journal, schools in America are likely to not reopen in the fall over fears of spreading the virus. We quoted New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who stated, “We are not going to use our children as guinea pigs.”
Again, ignoring hard facts and scientific data and buying into fear-inducing orders of political leaders aided by lap dog mainstream media, sound bite-addicted Americans do not support reopening schools this fall unless severe restrictions are put in place.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll reports that three out of ten surveyed think classrooms should not be allowed to reopen under any circumstances. Only 8 percent stated a preference that K-12 classes open up and resume normal in-person learning.
Forty-six percent polled said that if K-12 schools did reopen, they would need to have major restrictions in place including mandatory mask wearing and social distancing.
The poll also revealed most Americans feel the same about reopening in-person classes at colleges and universities.
Fifty-six percent of Americans polled said they were fearful that reopening schools would increase the spread of the virus in their communities.
When adding the 24 percent who are somewhat concerned, some 70 percent of the American public are afraid that letting children go back to school poses a public health danger.
TREND FORECAST: As global economies decline and online courses increase, there will be strong, new political movements for governments to lower school taxes. The argument will be that with online learning, far fewer teachers will be needed and all costs related to brick-and-mortar school buildings will be substantially lower, thus, taxes should be sharply cut.
TREND FORECAST: “New Millennium” education is a mega-trend.
As we had forecast at beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak when schools across the globe were shut down, it signaled the onset of a 21st century online learning system, which, back in 1996, Gerald Celente had forecast as “Interactive U” in his bestselling book, “Trends 2000.”
Trends are born, they grow, mature, reach old age, and then die.
“Interactive U” has just been born. The new education system that will replace the current one, which was invented by the Prussians at the onset of the Industrial Revolution, will offer great investment rewards to existing and start-up companies which create the new learning systems and continue to update them.
At this time, Indian companies are leading much of the trend, since online learning has deeper roots in that nation.
