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MALTATODAY 6 September 2020

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3 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 SEPTEMBER 2020 Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications Finally, the school return YOUR report on home-schooling (30 August, 2020) during COVID-19 could not have been timelier given the re-opening of schools. I am a grand- parent who occasionally follows the discussion on the Facebook groups who are advocating for the right to keep children at home and be schooled there. Naturally, I understand the con- cern. Children are certainly very good transmitters of the virus, and in a high-risk environment such as schools, and close contact with teaching staff, the risk of contagion is worrying. For those who will be send- ing their children to school, this will certainly be a 'brave, new normal' for children. I cannot count myself as one of the grandparents who want children to stay home. Work demands require that I retain a full-time work commit- ment; the support system of the in- laws is crucial to our grandchildren's wellbeing after school hours. Our reality is such that our children must be in school, with full health guide- lines applied rigorously and parents supporting the community effort by reminding their children to follow the rules. Whether other parents are intent on putting their feet down on not sending their children to school… I do remind them of the importance of children's socialising. We need our children to be inside an environment where teachers are exacting the so- cial rules of behaviour and learning; where children learn to live their own life inside the school-grounds; where, free of parents and their home life, they can learn to discover who they are. I am not against parents who want an option to have their children schooled at home by online teaching, but the outright majority of parents want to have their children in school. Online platforms could distract a teacher busy with keeping control in- side a school. Let's not hamper them with extra duties! I wish everybody the best of luck: education authorities, teachers, school support staff, parents and pu- pils, and even patient grandparents and friends who support children by picking them up or keeping them at home until they are collected by their parents. It truly takes a community to bring up a child. John Muscat St Julian's 40 years of Solidarnosc ON 31 August, 2020, Poland celebrated a very important date in its history. On that day, 40 years ago, the independent, self-governing, trade union "Solidarity" was established. On this occasion, a light projection of the "Solidarity" logo was displayed on the facade of the Mal- ta Parliament building on Monday, 31 August, 2020. This way the Polish Embassy in Malta joined many other Polish diplomatic missions which will com- memorate the 40th anniversary of Solidarność by illuminating the most famous architectural objects in the world with its logo. The rise of Solidarity was an event that gave hope for a united Europe, divided by the Iron Curtain since the end of World War II. As a result of the decisions of the great powers made at the conferences in Teheran and Yalta in 1945, post-war Poland found itself in the Soviet sphere of influence. After the war, the com- munists began to rule in Poland. The creation of Solidarity on 31 August, 1980 was a turning point for Poles, a hope for regaining true freedom and true independence. Monika Czyszek, Polish Embassy

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