They're Finally Looking Up
Pundits and the public are finally putting kids first.
For nearly two years, I’ve been yelling at school board meetings, on twitter, on opinion pages, and in this newsletter. I wanted people to recognize that kids were in crisis mode, parents were in crisis mode, women were in crisis mode. I heard horror stories on the sidewalk as neighbors came out their homes to tell me stories. In interviews, experts predicted dire situations. The education newspapers and journals — great publications that are sadly only read by education geeks like myself — reported the view on the ground. I found a group of like minded thinkers and parents on twitter, and we shared stories.
But I felt like I was shouting at the ocean, drowned out by the waves of people who were yelling about masks and infection rates and vaccinations and didn’t share my low-key constant stress about kids and families.
And then things changed just this week. The reporters on CNN, which is on constantly in our house, began pointing to the studies about learning lag and questioning the wisdom of closing schools in Chicago. Leana Wen, the high profile public health expert, has gotten almost feisty about keeping kids in schools. The New York Times described the situation as “a crisis.”
Now, part of me is like I TOLD ‘YA SO, ‘YA STUPID COWS. I want to rant like Jennifer Lawrence’s character in Don’t Look Up!, who was frustrated that nobody gave a shit about a comet heading towards earth. But nobody likes a screaming Cassandra. Even if she is right. And is still cute, despite her many years.
I guess I’m just glad that people are finally paying attention.
LINKS
More pictures from our family holiday gathering.
We are heading up to Vermont for the weekend. Skiing for the boys and husband. I’ll be reading books, while guarding the boots and gears at the ski lodge fireplace.
Hooked on Wordle.
Watching: Don’t Look Up! (we liked it). The Great, The Book of Boba Fett, Station 11
Steve’s Reading List: The Earth After Us by Jan Zalasiewicz and Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence
What I’m wearing: Irish sweater, skinny jeans, a rude t-shirt, and Mary Jane Docs.
Schools are closing because they don't have the staff to work. All the dedicated substitutes are covering long-term positions because educators have left because behavior has gotten so bad and COVID protocols require so much more documentation, and all their planning periods are gone covering staff who are out for doctor appointments, sick kids, family emergencies, flat tires, etc. Again, teachers teach because they want to help kids, not for the money. And Chicago isn't striking because they want more money, or even really because they feel threatened by COVID, but because their jobs have gotten so awful. Parents are suffering, kids are suffering, and teachers are suffering. Unfortunately your post, like almost every opinion I read, makes it seem like an all-or-nothing approach. I read a great article in The Atlantic today that described what we maybe should've been doing from the beginning, which is prioritizing families with high needs for in-person learning and sending others virtual. Wish we'd gone this way from the beginning... https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/school-closures-america-britain/621168/