[WORD_ON_THE_WEB] To go to class or not to go to class

Confusion is growing as the Education Ministry announced last week that it is leaving it up to schools to decide whether to teach in person or online during the first two weeks of March — from March 2 through 11.

Schools and parents are complaining that the ministry has essentially passed the burden onto them. While some schools are running surveys on parents to decide whether to teach online or offline, others are not. A lot of people are still cautious about sending children back to school.

The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations urged that “the government should not neglect the situation under the good cause of giving freedom and give guidance to schools based on clear and scientific standards.”

#passing_the_buck
“When there is chaos, the Education Ministry is supposed to give clear unified guidelines, but they are neglecting their responsibility by letting schools decide.”
“It’s nonsense they are passing the buck in this important situation.”

#not_the_time_yet
“It’s too much to expect all students to come to school. Omicron cases are projected to peak in March so any mandates should come after the peak. If the schools turn to online classes after they experience a further spread of Covid-19 after several days of bringing students to physical classrooms that will only create confusion.”
“The Education Ministry should mandate schools to just stick to online teaching! Or else the situation will only get worse.”

#no_surveys_for_us
“Our school just decided to bring all students back to school without asking our opinion. It was one-way communication.”
“Our middle school did the surveys but mandated students to come to school without telling us the result of the survey. What was the point of taking the surveys in the first place?”

BY LEE SI-YEOUNG, KIM JEE-HEE