Education in the Face of COVID-19

For John, BLUF:  Yes, some students will suffer from this period of no formal schooling, but at the same time others will flourish.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Morning Briefing:  Educators Are Nervous About Kids Being Away From Public School Indoctrination During Shutdown

From Pajama Media, by Writer Stephen Kruiser, 20 April 2020.

Here is the lede plus five:

The past couple of months have certainly been a time of many adjustments for a lot of Americans.  Some of us -- like myself -- haven’t really had our daily routines upset.  My child is finishing up college and heading into whatever the real world will look like after.

Parents with younger children who are in school, however, have had new reality thrust upon them.  Their kids are home, restless, and still need to learn.  Twentieth-century technology is making it easier to set up online learning, but that can still be a little glitchy.  There are a lot of teachers who aren’t very tech-savvy, which can bog down the process.

Either way, many parents are becoming more involved in their kids’ daily education than they’d perhaps ever planned to be.

Whether reluctant or enthusiastic new homeschooling parents, they’re going to be on the job for at least the rest of the school year.  Who knows what is going to happen in the fall? We’re all hoping for the best, but many experts predict a second wave of infections in the fall, which could further disrupt school schedules.

All of this time away from the public school indoctrination mills is making some modern educators nervous.  Mustn’t let the wee ones get too much exposure to mom and dad now, after all.

We were only a couple of weeks into the shut-down stuff when the Washington Post published an article written by a former teacher and education bureaucrat titled "Homeschooling during the coronavirus will set back a generation of children."

Yes, the article from The Wash Post was over the top.  There is no one answer on how children will be impacted by this enforced school shutdown.  My suspicion is some will strive.  As my friend, Ms Evelyn Thoren asked on City Life Show the other day, "Will they be smarter?" Some, for sure.  The ones for whom school is like a sea anchor on their learning.  Others will be less well off, being without a needed structured learning environment.  For me, the question is, will schools be able to differentiate and thus move each child along in a manner best for him or her?

My motto:  Never let school interfere with your eduction.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff