Coronavirus- the Unforeseen (?) Consequences on Work and Education
A little over two years ago, I wrote an essay where I predicted the demise of the school room as we understand the meaning of the term, in the wake of the Parkland, Florida school shooting ( http://www.drewnickell.com/?p=1814 ). In citing the issues surrounding challenges to providing safety and security in our school buildings, and the enormous costs to federal, state and local government in the construction, upkeep, maintenance and modernization of these facilities, I proffered the alternative, out-of-the-box and seemingly inevitable solution to these problems.
Largely as the result of having telecommuted for almost two decades, where subject matter training, team meetings and even corporate conferences were all held in virtual classrooms, on-line meeting rooms and auditoriums broadcast on virtual private networks (VPNs), respectively, I argued that issues of child safety and school security would be eliminated by children attending virtual, teacher-led classrooms from home. Since the technology to do so has been in place, as well as in use, for some time, it seemed inevitable that this is where childhood education is heading. The essay fell short in that it didn’t even consider the issues of pandemic and the spread of new and deadly viruses as a justification for heading in the direction of remote access education. Even the most draconian efforts to rid school buildings of communicable germs is, when all is said and done, impossible to achieve and fruitless to attempt.
Now in the wake of a global pandemic, likely created in and released from labs located in the Wuhan province of Communist China (the Chinese government denies this, is anyone surprised?), the latest strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading on six continents, as well as here in these United States, and the death toll from this virus is beginning to mount. Most susceptible to surviving the virus appears to be the elderly and others who are compromised due to unrelated illness, but whole regions of entire countries are now being quarantined as they never have, before. With efforts to prevent the widespread onset of the disease here in the U.S., including President Trump’s decision to cancel inbound flights from China early on- and in the wake of recommendation by most all of the experts to the contrary– the disease was stymied in its approach to the U.S. mainland, but only for a time… Regardless, it gave the CDC and supporting pharmaceutical companies the requisite time to isolate the virus, study it, develop test kits for it and formulate possible and promising vaccines to prevent it. While the vaccines won’t be fully tested in a controlled environment, and then released for widespread use, for at least another year, at least virologists and other related healthcare experts in the United States were given a head start by this delay.
Yet, the virus will inexorably become widespread and will kill many more Americans, before it has run its natural course, just as influenza claims tens of thousands of Americans each and every year in the same manner. Primarily due to the fact that this particular strain of coronavirus can be present, and also easily communicable, in people for up to two weeks before symptoms start to present, that this will reach widespread infestation is nothing short of certainty. Add to this the fact that many millions who contract this disease- the young and strong, in particular- but who are able to deal with its symptoms and recover from it having never seen medical professionals, will guarantee almost universal exposure and infection. Worse, COVID-19 will eventually mutate into yet another deadly strain, just as new and deadly strains of influenza and other illnesses ravage their humans and animal hosts, alike.
The coming weeks will see the closure of more and more school systems and specific industries, ranging from cruise ship tourism and international air travel to convention hosting and spectator events, will no doubt be adversely affected and financially impacted due to the spread of this illness. Nursing homes and other assisted living facilities who house the elderly will be particularly hit with the ramifications of this illness, while corporate headquarters with office cubicles in close proximity to one another will start to see those cubicles emptied, as more and more employees are encouraged to stay home and telecommute to work, instead.
In a televised Fox News town hall with President Donald Trump last week, the question was asked about the custom of shaking hands with one another. The president said, “If ever there was a time when all of us would stop shaking hands, you’d think it would be now…” Ever the germaphobe, Trump admitted that he had to get past his reluctance to shake hands in order to pursue political office, but nevertheless the President might be onto something with what he said.
After all, how can a science community which advises all of us to constantly wash our hands and avoid touching our faces, ultimately coexist in a culture so steeped in the exchange of handclasps and bodily embrace? It’s as simple as I cough or sneeze, then later shake hands with you, then later still, you rub your eyes or nose, and “presto” you’ve got what I have, long before either one of us knows we’re sick. In such a scenario, prevention amounts to good intentions at best, and we all know where any road paved with good intentions, leads…
Eventually, coronavirus COVID-19 will run its inevitable course, and the rest of us will move on to bigger and better things to worry ourselves about- like elections, retirement, the costs of living, paying our taxes and maintaining our precious lifestyles…not to mention keeping up with the Kardashians and rooting our favorite sports teams onto victory. No, this coronavirus won’t be the pestilence (and other ills) that are brought to the world by the apocalyptic “fourth horseman astride the pale horse,” as described in Revelations 6: 7-8 of the New Testament. That said, we are foolish to ignore the very real implications that the spread of this virus, and future viruses, portend for humanity.
So, the issues surrounding communicability of lethal disease will remain in place, once memory of the 2020 coronavirus COVID-19 fades into the forgotten past, just as other viruses from the past few decades have slipped from our collective consciousness. Yet, the societal and socio-economic repercussions of providing for safety and security, and then also having to prevent the spread of infectious disease, will spell the ultimate demise of school buildings, corporate offices and perhaps any place where people assemble in large groups. Retail establishments built of brick and mortar, already so hit with Amazon and the availability of other on-line shopping sites, will have one more threat to their own viability and the rationale for keeping them open will become all the more reason to close stores. Taken together, the potential impact of all these variables on a global economy cannot be over-stated.
In the end, then, people will have to ask themselves what’s so special about keeping the school buildings opened when, in the final analysis, they have become little more than large petrie dishes swimming with threats we can’t even see- be they microscopic or criminal in nature…?
“Johnny, it’s time to log on, sweetheart…I’m already late to work, and school starts in just a few minutes…”
Think about it, folks…it’s closer than you might otherwise imagine…
-Drew Nickell, 9 March 2020
© 2020 by Drew Nickell, all rights reserved.
author of “Bending Your Ear- a Collection of Essays on the Issues of Our Times”
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