It’s been four years this month since a lot of U.S. schools shut down for Covid. And now, even the New York Times is confirming what most of us knew or suspected. Those shutdowns did nothing to prevent the virus, but they did a lot to harm kids’ education.
And while the effects were worse on poor kids – something school closure opponents warned at the time – students across all income levels lost out significantly on learning.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for an apology to the governors who decided to keep schools open, or to reopen them before the media felt they should. Headlines like The Atlantic’s “Georgia’s Experiment in Human Sacrifice” may not have aged well, but there’s not a lot of contrition.
Nor will you get a mea culpa from teachers’ union president Randi Weingarten, who said in fall of 2020, when some schools were reopening and others stayed shut, that attempts to reopen schools were “reckless, callous, cruel.”
Never forget that when the media scolds about misinformation, they don’t mean stories like this. These news stories, which promoted policies that actively harmed children’s educations and deprived them of crucial socialization, weren’t considered misinformation. The incurious attitude of the media was, don’t forget, considered reasonable by them and those politicians who agreed with them.
If this goes like other news cycles where the media latches onto a theory that ends up being very wrong (see: Covington kids, Jussie Smollet, the lab leak theory, and many more) their next move will be … nothing. Just quietly move on and hope everyone forgets how wrong they were.
Be wary. And remember this the next time a journalist or politician wants to silence a voice on any side.
– Ken
Schools were closed by the Teachers Uniions they ran the show
Blame them & the Wuhan hysteria & dble std: Urge U must wear masks then elites dont wear masks, lost all Cred during the 2020 riots
Spot on.