As Coronavirus pandemic continues, Governor Reynolds seems to not be concerned about the students of Iowa and their right to a K-12 education. Quarantines have been extended, yet Reynolds has not issued any statewide laws giving students an opportunity to learn online.
There are online resources more than ever before, however the governor of Iowa has chosen to ignore this. With a current law in place which prohibits an online education for K-12, students are left in quarantine learning next to nothing. Not giving an executive order to put education online is denying students of Iowa the basic right to an education.
The state of Iowa is allegedly number 13 in education rankings, yet Alabama, ranked 49, has given online access to an education statewide. Mary Virginia Huffaker of Alabama expresses how important it is to give students access to an online education, “In this time of uncertainty it is important to maintain a form of structure and dependability in our lives. Online schooling allows for students to regain a sense of structure in their lives while continuing to pursue their educational goals,” said Huffaker.
Junior Courtney Mohr is currently in AP Government and with the pressure of AP tests, is esspecially frustrated with the lack of instruction, “Even though the college board is offering learning tools to prepare for the test it is incredibly unprofessional and stupid of Governor Reynolds not to allow at-home learning from teachers to give students a more personal experience and one-on-one attention they need to take these exams,” Mohr said.
PVHS has released optional resources for its students however not giving direction will leave students learning at different paces and therefore inevitably leaving some behind. Huffaker also expressed how this is an important reason to put in online schooling, “Online schooling also allows students to continue to pursue their education so that when quarantine is over and people’s daily lives return back to normal, no student is left behind,” Huffaker said.
While Governor Reynolds has been slow to act on the Coronavirus pandemic and remains firm that she will not issue a stay at home order, she’s failing students. It is also a concern that students will not have access to the required resources at home however if the majority of the country can figure it out, Iowa should be able to.
Governor Reynolds, continuing to make excuses as to why schooling has not been moved online, is embarrassing for the state of Iowa, all K-12 students, and the Iowa State government.
However Governor Reynolds is not the only issue, State Senator Chris Cournoyer currently represents district 49 but was former president of the PV school board. As she ran on a pro-education platform, it is embarrassing to see how quiet she has been on the issue. As a former school board representative she is failing her constituents as she does not stand up for education.
Students statewide are being denied of a basic right, if the state has the resources, they should be used.
