Reading-writing task April 2020
Government advisors support reopening Spanish schools in September
Experts say the return to the classroom should be carried out in phases and with special
precautions, according to the situation of the coronavirus crisis at that time.
5September is the likely target for getting Spain’s children back into schools, after their
closure last month due to the coronavirus pandemic. That’s the date being recommended by
the group of experts put together by the Spanish Pediatric Association that is advising the
government. This would mean that the 8.2 million students who are currently confined in
their homes under Spain’s strict lockdown measures will have spent five months without
10setting foot in a classroom.
The committee was put together after the Health Ministry commissioned a report from the
association on the measures it should take with regard to schoolchildren. The opinion among
the eight specialists that make up the group is that schools will not be ready to restart classes
with the necessary precautions until after the summer.
15Among the experts advising the government is a child psychiatrist, a specialist in infectious
diseases, and experts in pediatric ethics and primary healthcare, among others. “It would not
be prudent to open schools in the current circumstances and we can assume that the rest of
the ongoing school year will be abandoned,” they say from the commission.
The epidemiologist from the group, Quique Bassat, explains that the return to the classroom
20is not a priority. “The end of the confinement measures will not begin until well into May,
and given that this will nearly be at the end of the school year, there is agreement that it is not
worth the risk,” he says. “It will be delayed until September.”
But that will be dependent on the progress of the coronavirus epidemic in Spain, and the
experience of China, where children are back at school after four months of isolation. Bassat
25adds that the group has not set a date, and it will ultimately be the Spanish government that
decides when schools will resume activity.
José Ramón Repullo, head of the Department for Health Planning and Economy from the
National Health School, cites the criteria from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the
end of confinement. “The framework for the safe return to school in Spain would be in
Reading-writing task April 2020
30September, with masks, phasing attendance, first in high school, combining face-to-face and
virtual classes, and making the timetables in schools more flexible,” the expert explains.
Repullo adds that the WHO criteria “allow for the adjustment of strategies according to
geographical areas,” according to the progress of the pandemic. This could mean different
rules and regulations in different regions. “In preschools and elementary schools, physical
35distancing is unworkable,” he explains. “It could be reduced to rotations according to the day
of the week.” But this would make work life very difficult for parents of young children.
“I can’t imagine small children – nor adolescents and youngsters – using masks or avoiding
contact when playing, hugging or the usual squabbling,” the epidemiologist adds. “And you
can’t imagine them being confined in classrooms or courtyards, given that both are part of
40usual school life.” In middle and high schools, however, classes could be organized so that
fewer students coincide in the same space. Repullo adds that there should be priorities for the
schooling of “children from disadvantaged backgrounds and with domestic overcrowding,
and those with an absence of IT resources and family support.”
Another of the concerns of families is how to manage their return to work if the schools are
45closed, and if other family members have to take the children to school. “This should not be
done by their grandparents, and schools should consider wider and more flexible timetables
so that parents can collect their children when they finish work,” says Repullo. He also adds
that schools must reinforce their hygiene measures, such as handwashing. Teachers “should
be particularly protected,” he adds. “Especially if they have any kind of health condition that
50makes them vulnerable.”
Reading-writing task April 2020
Answer the questions:
1. Who is part of the committee advising the government?
2. Who will decide the reopening schools date?
3. In the case of returning to schools, which measures would been carried out?
55 4. Why are the families worried?
Match the definitions of the words below
Lockdown – put together – worth the risk – resume – framework – squabbling
Meriting possible danger or loss.
60 To take up or go with again; continue.
To make or prepare something by fitting or collecting parts together.
To argue noisily about something that is not very important.
An official order to control the movement of people or vehicles because of a danger
situation.
65 A set of beliefs, ideas or rules that is used as the basis for making judgements,
decisions, etc.
Writing task
On Wednesday 15th, authorities decided that all students will automatically get a passing
70grade this academic year but that teachers must decide the exact scores each child gets,
based on how well they did during the first two terms. Some students could still fail specific
subjects and get tested for them again in the fall, but no student will be held back a year
because of it, with very few exceptions that will require approval from regional authorities.
75Write an opinion essay expressing your thoughts about the issue. You can search for further
information on the web (https://english.elpais.com/spanish_news/2020-04-15/spanish-
students-to-get-a-passing-grade-due-to-coronavirus-crisis.html).
