Viral video footage shows a little girl bursting into tears when she discovers that she can finally return to the classroom.
The account Reopen California Schools posted a video Wednesday showing a little girl sobbing in happiness when her mother tells her that she can go back to school next week.
Reopen California Schools Director Jonathan Zachreson obtained the video and permission to post it from the child’s family after seeing it online, he told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“When I first saw the video come across our Facebook group, it was a story I knew was missing from the conversation,” he told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “I shared this video across our platforms because I wanted to remind everyone, from parents, to teachers, to politicians, that getting schools open is about one thing—the kids.”
Clara Zanotto’s mother Tarine Zanotto told The Daily Caller News Foundation in a phone interview Thursday evening that her 9-year-old daughter will have been out of school for 358 days when she returns to the classroom next week. Clara is in fourth grade and has been doing online schooling since March 2020, her mother said.
The child suffered from anxiety at the beginning of the pandemic, according to her mother, but her parents were able to help her get through this stage. Zanotto said her daughter is “very independent” with her online schooling, but noted, “we do help her.”
The Zanottos live in Redondo Beach, California, where Clara’s mother works as a personal assistant to a family in the area and her father works as a video editor, Zanotto said.
“She was born here,” Zanotto told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “Me and my husband are originally from Brazil, but we live in Redondo Beach since 2007.”
When Zanotto found out that her daughter could return to school, she told the fourth grader by showing her pieces of paper with the dates that Clara was last in school on them. She expected that her daughter would “scream in happiness” and was surprised by her reaction.
“She had that emotional burst of tears, holding back a lot of emotions and everything,” Zanotto told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “She’s doing great with online schooling as far as it’s possible, of course, she’s much happier that she’s going back to school.”
The child’s mother said that “last year was not the best” in regards to how teachers in her child’s school district handled online schooling. But she said that “this school year they improved a lot.”
“It all depends on the child’s personality,” she said. “It’s not an ideal, it was OK, good.”
“I’m really, really excited because I get to go back and see all my friends,” Clara told The Daily Caller News Foundation Thursday evening. She also said she’s excited to see her teacher, who she has only met when “we like got to go pick up supplies to school, but only that.”
The fourth grader said she most misses playing with her friends at recess and “just doing homework with them.” She has occasionally seen her friends on FaceTime, she said, adding that “every once in a while I got to have a play date with them, like a bike ride or something.”
She suggested to The Daily Caller News Foundation that there are both benefits and negatives for children to be stuck home from school.
“I know when I was at school, I was never home much and I didn’t get to be home a lot,” she said. “So that’s the like good part, that staying home, but I guess it’s bad on the part that we can’t go to school. ‘Cause we can’t see our teachers and friends.”
The student told The Daily Caller News Foundation that she has found it easier to learn at home since her classmates can’t really whisper or interrupt the teacher on Zoom. She said she personally feels comfortable participating, telling The Daily Caller News Foundation that this is because “I really want to participate.”
“I guess it’s just harder to talk, have a conversation with one of your friends on Zoom,” she added.
Clara would like to tell parents that she does not think they should prevent their children from going to school since the children probably had “maybe a little less than one semester” in the classroom in the past year.
“It’s pretty hard going from in-person school to online,” she said. “So they should at least let their kid go for a little bit.”
Her mother told The Daily Caller News Foundation that “it’s time” for Clara to return to school.
“I see many more benefits than risk for her,” Zanotto said. “So there’s no more way that I can deny this right to her.”
Zanotto said she had no interest in discussing the politics of lawmakers, school openings, and teachers unions, telling The Daily Caller News Foundation, “I don’t watch news. I don’t follow news, so I don’t even know what they are saying.”
“Please, just spread love,” she urged The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of this content, email [email protected].
Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email [email protected] and we will consider publishing your remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature.
