COLUMBIA, S.C. — News 19 spoke with Midlands kids on Friday to find out how they're feeling about returning to school this fall. Here's what they had to say.
Students did not have the typical end of the year they were imagining because of COVID-19. They transitioned from being in the classroom to doing schoolwork online to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Recently lawmakers, officials, and parents have been debating whether or not they think it's a good idea to go back to school starting this fall.
Many people say they like the idea of giving parents options on what they would like available for their child. Some would prefer the choice of sending their kid to school or continuing online education.
Max Saltzman is going into the fifth grade this coming school year. He says he misses his friends.
"I miss seeing my friends and my classmates and then doing activities, school subjects like science, social studies, and math," said Max.
Max says he had to get adjusted to doing school from home. He says his mom has done a great job of teaching as well.
If school returns in the fall, Max would like to see safety measures in place.
"I think if we go back, you should wear masks to school for the whole day," explained the future fifth-grader.
His brother Cody Saltzman, who's going into the third grade, says he misses his friends and learning math in the classroom.
"Well in school, we had to do math and stuff and we're still doing that," said Cody. "In school, the math that we did, it was fun."
When he comes back to school, Cody says he would feel more comfortable if people actively cleaned.
"Face masks and hand sanitizer and washing our hands. Not being so close to people," explained Cody.
Isaiah Small is going into the sixth grade this year. He says it's been hard not being around his classmates.
"It's been very tough not seeing my friends and not seeing my teachers in person. It's been tough doing schoolwork over a video chat," said Isaiah.
While he wants to be back with his teachers and friends again, Isaiah thinks it would be better to wait and not go back to school in person until the number of cases go down.
"Peoples' lives won't be in jeopardy and stuff. People won't have a high chance of getting sick and getting the virus possibly," explained Isaiah.
Aleyse Small is going into the fourth grade. She says she prefers being in the classroom instead of learning online.
"It was hard doing online school because you couldn't talk to a friend when you needed a little help. There's so many distractions at home and at school it's just the teacher and you and your work," said Aleyse.
"You can see the way that they're teaching you and you can understand it better," explained the future fourth-grader.
Aleyse also says she would like for cases to go down before heading back to school.
Governor McMaster said on Friday the state intends to reopen schools.