Earlier this week, Gov. Kay Ivey issued a statement urging public school systems around the state to resume in-person instruction over virtual learning, where possible.
That goes against a trend underway in other parts of the country, where state and local officials are returning to virtual learning and shutting down aspects of the economy to mitigate the effects of what appears to be a second wave of COVID-19.
State Sen. David Sessions (R-Grand Bay) said he approved of the Governor’s decision. He told Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5 based on what we had learned from the “experiment with virtual learning,” school-aged children returning to the classroom was for the best.
“There is no doubt after this experiment with virtual learning that in-person is certainly the best,” he said. “The best education is for that child to be in that classroom for that teaching instruction. There is no doubt about that. I mean, we can see that. I think the Governor — like I said, I think she is following the guidelines of the health officers, and you know, Dr. [Anthony] Fauci and all those experts that feel like this was the correct way to approach it. We’ll see what happens, won’t we?”
Sessions also said he opposes a return to a shutdown, another trend that is also underway in other parts of the country, and said he was optimistic the coronavirus metrics would turn in a good direction in the near-term.
“I don’t think that’s the right approach,” he said. “It’s just not. I mean, I’m not sure we would have not been better off to have not done anything in the first place. We’re not going to know the actual best way to have handled this until way after this is over with. It’s almost like a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico coming at you. You never know what that thing is exactly going to hit until after it’s gone. I’m afraid this particular virus has done us the same way. We’re not going to know the best way to handle it until after this is over with. But I think things will turn. Like anything, you’re going to have those ups and downs, the spikes, the peaks and the valleys. I think, hopefully, this thing will turn around and numbers will start decreasing. We’ll get the vaccine on hand. Unfortunately, the virus is really, really tough on a lot of people. But the majority of people are handling the virus without too many complications.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.
