As COVID-19 spreads to every corner of the globe and our lives, it’s a big question whether and how students will have classes. In California, 30 districts have been closed until the end of the academic year and we can be sure that more will be added to the list as the weeks go by. This means that from kindergarten to college, students and teachers will have hours of zoom and online classes.
In this time of crisis, online classes may feel like just what students need, to safely protect themselves and continue their education. But this plan is just pie in the sky. Not all students have access to a computer, or even a safe and quiet space to have online classes.
The COVID-19 crisis is only intensifying problems that already existed in our unequal society. When it comes to inequality in education – just like inequality in housing, health care, and personal wealth – those who have the least, suffer the worst of the COVID-19 crisis.
This is a time to find ways to immediately help those who are being most affected. But we also need to realize that the most persistent disease, made worse by COVID-19, is the inequality and deprivation caused by the capitalist system.
Featured image credit: Wikimedia Commons
