Four years ago, saying that remote learning was harming children was a surefire way to get banned from Twitter/X, suspended from Facebook, and labeled a 'grandma killer.' Despite that, many of us warned that remote learning was a very bad thing for children, who were at extremely low risk from COVID.
And now here's The New York Times stating what the rest of us said in 2020:
New York Times publishes further data showing what is increasingly indisputable: Remote learning during Covid was a failure that did significant harm to children. https://t.co/wmCp9Z8uFR pic.twitter.com/bKV6OJIq7g
— AG (@AGHamilton29) March 19, 2024
Four years ago this month, schools nationwide began to shut down, igniting one of the most polarizing and partisan debates of the pandemic.
Some schools, often in Republican-led states and rural areas, reopened by fall 2020. Others, typically in large cities and states led by Democrats, would not fully reopen for another year.
A variety of data — about children’s academic outcomes and about the spread of Covid-19 — has accumulated in the time since. Today, there is broad acknowledgment among many public health and education experts that extended school closures did not significantly stop the spread of Covid, while the academic harms for children have been large and long-lasting.
Just incredible.
The dead teachers would like a word
— Vermin Major (@MatthewGre58093) March 19, 2024
Like the ones who went on vacation? Sure.
It's amazing that after four years and a bunch of data, people still cling to the 'dead teachers' narrative.
I was teaching in NY during this time. Anyone with eyes and common sense knew this to be true. The NYT was scared to report this at the time though. They are now because it’s “safe.”
— What? (@Possiblyinabit) March 19, 2024
Recommended
If you know anyone who teaches, you know the impact of this is far-reaching, long-lasting, and pervasive.
Kids suffered.
So the pajama class could feel safe.
That chart indicates kids who spent the entire time in virtual instruction are on average about 2 months behind those who spent little to no time in virtual instruction.
— Colin Jacobson (@ColinJ1992) March 19, 2024
2 months isn't a significant difference.
Tell us you know nothing about children, or child development, without telling us you know nothing about children or child development.
I have a half-baked theory that "remote" is fine for tasks we already know pretty well... and much less effective when we're new to a task or still learning. (I come to this partly from frustrating experience with a new, remote job.) Kids, obviously... are still learning.
— SK (@sonik0909) March 19, 2024
And we failed them.
There still needs to a reckoning surrounding this. We had data by mid-2020 showing that schools were not a major contributor in spreading Covid and that kids were at lower risk. Yet teachers unions and their allies demanded everyone ignore the science and keep schools closed. https://t.co/r7s01kQdZ9
— AG (@AGHamilton29) March 19, 2024
There needs to be a major reckoning for this.
Remember when everyone knew this but you were suspended from Twitter/Facebook/Youtube for saying it? https://t.co/NFj3H0jQK4
— Yore Friend Whig 🇮🇱 (@WhigJust) March 19, 2024
And as some of the replies show, there are still people who support this.
I wonder if @rweingarten knows about this extra data?
— Kris Kinder (@kris_kinder) March 19, 2024
She should know asap. https://t.co/WsDJsEXlnZ
She'll lie and say she had nothing to do with the extended lockdowns.
Then demand more money.
I'm sure it did, as was locking down businesses. But what I never understand when this issue comes up: what was the alternative? https://t.co/U9Ma7FCev5
— Josh Mills (@JoshMills) March 19, 2024
Keeping things open and letting people make decisions for themselves and their children.
ugh, just imagine how many kids would’ve been 1/5th of a school year smarter if they lived to see the end of it
— Kevin Welsh (@kctww) March 19, 2024
unbelievable that we sacrificed that much education so people wouldn’t *checks notes* die en masse https://t.co/pXNpYf1KXj
Except they didn't. Especially not kids.
Randi Weingarten & teachers' unions anti-scientifically lobbied to cripple kids futures, killing more than a few while lining their pockets with taxpayer & fresh off the printer money.
— Some Guy (@MagisFuturum) March 19, 2024
Intensely evil & deliberate. https://t.co/9U0ijgAKqM
Yep. Evil and deliberate.
Articles like this infuriate me. If schools had not shut down they would have become deadly breeding grounds for COVID. We would have lost WAY more than a million people. Kids will catch up. https://t.co/y75rU4OIWT
— HereForTheCats (@nlcmcneill) March 19, 2024
Except they won't. And we wouldn't have lost 'way more' than a million people.
What infuriates you is the truth.
Lockdowns were a mistake.
The ramifications of this catastrophic policy will be felt for years, if not decades, to come https://t.co/NJX0BBW2bN
— Rugby Kobi 🇺🇲 (@KobiRugby) March 19, 2024
Yes, they will.
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