July 3, 2020

On today's show Adrian and Ethan tackle the issue facing schools around the world...how to safely reopen this fall.

Currently schools around the world are considering a wide gamut of scenarios for reopening this year that range from totally in-person to totally remote, with many blended options in between that are designed to have fewer students in the building at any one time.

The CDC guidelines are very specific and provide the guidance to school superintendents. Some of the most obvious differences will be teachers and children wearing masks and other personal protective gear, an increase in sanitization of classrooms and buses, frequent temperature checks and hand-washing and new rules that would allow for as much social distancing as possible.

Implementing these safety guidelines will be very costly. Obviously, the social distancing issue is a key element. This requirement will, in most cases, require schools to open for some students but not all.

It will require more busing and the continuation of remote learning and there will be costs for protective equipment, school sanitizing and many of the other items in the guidelines. School districts are faced with a very hard decision. Six of the superintendents in the largest California districts have already indicated that they may not be able to open schools at all.

The pandemic hasn’t dampened the spirits of these kids.


Dominic Mercado Gave Out Food

In New Jersey, 12-year-old Dominic Mercado decided to forgo the usual birthday festivities this year and instead, he asked for boxes of pasta and jars of spaghetti sauce for the local food kitchen in his hometown. It took five SUVs just to haul of all of the food away.


Marley and Zoe Made Masks

In Seattle, young entrepreneurs 13-year-old Marley and 16-year-old Zoe Macris began their Scrunchies By Mar business in March of 2019. Then COVID-19 hit, and the girls decided to put aside their scrunchies and make room to sew face masks for nurses, firefighters, the police and others on the frontlines for free. They made 300 masks in just the first few days of operation.


Stephen Made a Hand-Washing Station

Even though his village, Mukwa, in Bungoma County, Kenya, hasn't seen a single case of COVID-19, nine-year-old Stephen still wanted to help. He designed a hand-washing machine that tips water from a bucket with the use of a foot pedal to avoid touching surfaces to help reduce infections.


Stella Wrote a Novel

Before COVID-19, Patrick Bonner would make up bedtime stories for his daughter Stella to help her get to sleep. After adding on “chapters” to this never-ending story, the ten-year-old suggested that they write down their thoughts on paper. When they got quarantined together, the two got serious creating “Darien the Librarian.” The 50,000-word book is about a girl who can magically jump in and out of books. Stella decided to start a fundraiser. The initial goal was to make $500 that they could give to Feeding America. As of May 26, Stella’s book had raised over $26,000 on their Facebook page.

James Pacelli Raised Money for MS Food Network

A Brandon, Mississippi, 10-year-old, James rode his bike for 10 miles to raise money for the Mississippi Food Network. After his mom posted a video of his idea, the donations started rolling in. People from 12 different states and three countries donated to Pacelli’s bike ride. He raised $3000 for the Mississippi Food Network. That will provide 18,000 meals for Mississippians in need.