EDITORIAL
READING THE
CLASSROOM
Though New York City is in far better shape
than its peers in Texas, Florida and Mississippi
in terms of the spread of COVID-19 these
days, there remain plenty of reminders that
the health crisis remains far from over here.
The latest reminder came on Sept. 18, when the
city’s Department of Education announced the first
school closure, a special needs school in East Harlem,
related to COVID-19 in the new school year, which only
began on Sept. 13.
The closure should come as a surprise to no one.
Even with vaccines getting into arms as young as
12 years of age, and rigid health and safety protocols
in place, there is no guarantee that infections will be
completely avoided.
It makes the city’s omission of a remote learning
option for public school students and parents, even for
just the first half of the new school year, all the more
glaring.
There can be no substitute for in-person instruction.
We know from experience that children have missed
the interaction with their teachers and peers that only
a classroom can provide, not the isolation of a computer
screen. They’re more focused and higher achieving inside
a classroom than outside of it.
Yet nothing was done to accommodate the students
who may have been hesitant to return, or to assuage the
anxiety of parents who feel uncomfortable about sending
their youths back to school.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn recognized
that in continuing its St. Thomas the Apostle
Remote Learning Academy for a second year. About
150 students are part of the program, and the diocese
says parents who have enrolled their students in the remote
academy have expressed continued concerns over
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COVID-19 and the Delta variant.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Meisha
Ross Porter would’ve been wise to follow the diocese’s
reasoning and created a remote option for its students.
Their laser focus on reopening the classrooms completely
ignored the angst of a small, yet sizable number of
parents and children who just aren’t ready to take that
next step. In short, they failed to read the classroom.
Disruptions like the one in East Harlem will be repeated
often this school year. They will continue as long
as COVID exists on a pandemic scale.
What would the harm have been offering parents
and children remote learning as an option from the
start?
September is Prostate Cancer
Awareness Month
and it is time to stand up
in the fight against prostate
cancer. The COVID-19 pandemic
has prevented many men
from getting tested for prostate
cancer. But now is the time to
get tested.
About one in nine men will
be diagnosed with prostate cancer
during his lifetime and, according
to the American Cancer
Society, there will be 248,530
new cases of prostate cancer
and 31,130 deaths from prostate
cancer in 2021.
Prostate cancer is responsible
for the second-most deaths
caused from cancer, but it is curable
if caught early. The key is
early detection, which will give a
better outcome. I know that only
too well.
I was diagnosed with prostate
cancer in 2015. I was going to
have knee surgery and needed a
physical by my primary doctor.
She found my PSA was high and
directed me to see a urologist in
Manhasset. It was found I had an
aggressive prostate cancer and
required an aggressive surgery.
I had the surgery at age 66 and
today I am 72 years old and am
cancer free! These doctors truly
saved my life and I am eternally
thankful.
There are many treatments
out there today. I therefore urge
all men over the age of 40 to get
tested. Remember this: Your life
depends upon it and your family
depends upon you, so get tested
now!
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Bellerose
PARADE IN BAYSIDE
Bayside Little League hosted a parade for its teams on Saturday, Sept. 18. Pictured above with their team
are manager Nicholas Singh, hitting coach Lou Bolkovic and fielding coach Ariel De La Rosa. The team is
sponsored by Shoe Village and trained by PEGS baseball.
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