There are numerous legitimate arguments against reopening schools in the midst of a pandemic — not the least of which is basic common sense — but here’s the bottom line:

A kid in my class tests positive for COVID-19; the other students in the class and I then have to quarantine for 14 days; as do all of the kid’s other teachers; as do all of the students in the kid’s other classes; as do all of the students in the teacher’s other classes; as does anyone else those teachers and students interacted with on campus. Throw in due diligence and contact tracing — school’s out. Again. All the exponential result of just one case. Kind of like tipping over that first domino.

It’s not a question of if it’s going to happen because it is definitely going to happen. Not at every single school in every single district, but the Rule will overwhelmingly exceed the Exceptions.

And let’s cut through the disingenuous B.S. — reopening schools isn’t so much about kids’ educations as it is about freeing parents up to go to work. Parents don’t enjoy playing full-time babysitter (that’s part of a teacher’s job), and they certainly don’t appreciate having to help their offspring navigate the sometimes choppy waters and nuances of online coursework. Teachers don’t like it either; we’d much rather do our schtick in a classroom setting as opposed to trying to pull things off electronically. “Live” computerized class sessions and homemade videos — no matter how brilliantly produced — are poor substitutes for the give and take of the classroom.

It goes without saying that kids are going to do better in a face-to-face learning environment but a quarter or semester of doing classes online isn’t going to be that detrimental for most students in the long-term. Some, unfortunately, will end up faring worse in the short-term, but any learning disadvantages won’t be irreparable. The same cannot be said about potential health issues.

Then, of course, there’s the simple fact that reopening schools safely is logistically impossible. How many properly socially-distanced students do you think will fit in a typical classroom? There’s not enough physical space, or qualified teachers, to pull it off. How about if half the student population works from home on a given day? Nope. I have 30+ students in most of my classes and the math doesn’t add up. Now, should districts choose to bypass CDC recommendations for effective social distancing, mask-wearing protocols, and/or prudent quarantining those pesky logistical problems become moot. ‘Blatant cheating is okay so long as it’s convenient’ makes for a fine hypocritical life — or death — lesson courtesy of your local school system.

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As far as some parents being unable to work — that’s a tough deal, no doubt. But why go through the nightmare of attempting to reopen schools when we’re only going to have to shut them back down again? It will be a lot less messy — and dangerous — if we wait until schools can honestly open back up safely.

I get that there are those who don’t feel it’s worth the economic pain, those who don’t care if teachers catch the virus (we’re only teachers, after all), those who feel it’s worthwhile to gamble on the survival odds of moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas and others who might wind up as collateral damage as a result of rushing to reopen schools. Rationalize as you will. But please don’t attempt to make this about the kids because it most certainly is not about the kids.

If reopening schools were truly about the kids, those in charge would never put our most precious future commodity so carelessly at risk.

Chris Fulton teaches Cambridge Literature/General Paper classes at Tarpon Springs High School. He has been in the classroom for more than 23 years.