Kendall County Times

Kendall County Republican Party Chairman, James Marter, said he counts himself among the growing number of parents now concerned about the quality of education that children are receiving in the age of the coronavirus.

“I don’t have school-aged children any longer, but my concern couldn’t be greater,” Marter told the Kendall County Times. 

“All this remote learning is hard on students, teachers and parents. Everybody wants things to get back to the way they’ve always been," Marter said. 

Virtual learning is causing concern for many parents as students are falling behind in understanding | Stock photo

With COVID infection rates now rising across the country, a new OnePoll study conducted on behalf of CODEWizardHQ finds that 94% of all parents are concerned about learning loss as a result of COVID-19-related disruptions, The Center Square reported.

Even as an overwhelming number of parents are in concert about the negative effects the virus is having on education, Marter concedes that the impact being felt is not the same for all people.

“The ones not losing out on opportunities and learning are able to do online learning above and beyond, but the reality is not everyone has the same access, space, technology and equipment,” Marter said.

Researchers found among the greatest obstacles cited by parents were bandwidth issues (54%), children missing the group interactions of in-person class (40%) and students being distracted by other things in their remote learning environment (39%), The Center Square reported. 

Then there is the issue of individualization, with CodeWizard stressing that “different students learn differently," the news report said. 

Issues created, and resulting, from the pandemic do not stop with virtual learning and our country's education system. Job loss, small businesses closing and the rise of suicide rates name only a few of that have also came as a result of coronavirus. As more questions than answers rise from a second wave of outbreaks which has resulted in the continuation of social distancing, more shut down orders and increased restrictions; the completion and beginning distribution of a vaccine brings hope to many who have long been ready for life to get back to normal. 

Marter laments that far too many have lost focus of what the overall goal should be in battling the lingering virus.

“For sure, there is a virus out there and it seems to be particularly threatening to older and sickly people but the world has to keep moving, and we shouldn’t be punishing the entire population as we move to gain total control of the situation," said Marter.

"For the most part, I think people can take precautions on their own," said Marter.

 Marter adds there’s no doubt politics has come to play a large role in how decisions are being made.

“Too many of us are being blinded by fake science,” Marter said. 

“We’re not paying attention to the real numbers, such as the death rates we were told the virus would generate. None of that has materialized, plus we know some of the numbers have been purposely inflated because Gov. Pritzker incentivized programs where hospitals get more money based on number of cases," Marter said. 

Through it all, Marter said Pritzker remains a mystery.

“I don’t know what his motives are, but if you look deep enough nothing with the governor makes much sense. This governor doesn’t practice what he preaches, and a lot of what he’s been doing seems out of whack with most people," Marter said.