In Paris, a mother and her three children recently went to a supermarket to look for school supplies.They bought writing instruments, notebooks and plenty of face masks.Parents and children across Europe have been making similar purchases at the start of a new school year.European officials have decided to put children back into school classrooms for the new term.Facing an increase in coronavirus cases, officials in France, Britain, Spain and other countries are making rules about masks,building new classrooms and adding teachers.European leaders from the political left, right and center are sending a similar message to students and their parents:Even in a pandemic, children are better off in class.France's prime minister promised last week to "do everything" to get people back to school and work.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called reopening schools a "moral duty."His government even threatened to fine parents who keep children at home.And Italy's health minister forced discos to close this month with one goal in mind: "to reopen schools in September in complete safety."
