Here's another dilemma: Distance teaching presents unique problems for working class and poor families--not just the availability of computers and Internet service, but the fact that working parents won't be able to manage their kids' access, and stay-at-home or unemployed parents may not be able to troubleshoot technical problems. One disadvantaged school district lost contact with many students and had no way to find them. All of these problems and more create tremendous stress for teachers, who just want to teach their students. A hybrid method might minimize some of these problems but not all.

On the other hand, wealthy families had few problems adapting to a distance model.

So working families have a no-win choice: send their kids to school for the best possible educational experience and the greatest risk to the lives of family members, or keep children at home, which creates emotional and physical problems for the kids and practically guarantees academic failure.

Although these problems are not likely the result of a conscious conspiracy to prioritize wealthy students over middle and working class students, the American educational system has always favored the wealthy, and the Trump / DeVos administration has exacerbated that problem exponentially.

If we ever return to any sort of practical normalcy, our first priority should be to redress these inequities in our education system.