What do you think will be the long-term academic impact on kids currently in elementary and MS (I'm thinking HSers are more self sufficient and more established academically)? I have an older DC but I'm thinking about my 11 yo nephew who has had some academic struggles before the pandemic. I would think the months of remote learning, combined with summer melt, would set everyone way back--and kids who were weaker academically may not ever catch up.
I think this is correct, some kids may never catch up which will likely affect the rest of their lives. As a society, we should ask whether this is truly worth it to save the elderly and very ill a few more years of life. We should, but we probably won’t.
You’re such a jerk, I can’t believe it. there are many people at risk who could live for a few decades with their conditions, many have young children, spouses etc, who depend on them. It’s not just people who have only a few months left to live who are at risk here. You are gross and despicable.
OP. To the person above, I think you're being a bit harsh on the OR. I agree that lots of people are impacted (not just the very elderly or those who are already ill), but I think the larger point is one worth considering. As a society, we're acting like better days are just around the corner. I don't think that's true. It will take a long time to truly manage this virus and it will likely be endemic (like colds or flus) in that it will continue to mutate and rear its head for years. Even if we have a vaccine, it will takes months for 70% of the population (the figure for heard immunity) to get it--and some studies are showing that 35% or more of Americans don't plan to be immunized. And vaccines for children--as I understand it--aren't even in trials yet. So any vaccine would be for those 18+. In other words, we need to find a new normal and learn to live with this. I don't think "waiting it out" is going to be a viable option. And I know people are going to jump on me and say that other countries have done it, but *this* country may not be willing/able to make the sacrifices those countries did. So whatever the reasons, we are dealing with a medium- to long-term problem measured in years, not months. So we need to figure out education, jobs and lifestyle in a way that will co-exist with COVID.
OR here: I don’t care about your emotional arguments. Facts are that worldwide, roughly 80% of deaths are in the elderly; median age of death is around 80 (which is higher than average life expectancy in most countries); nursing homes account for less than 1% of the population and over 40% of deaths (some places as high as 60-80%) in most regions; the remaining deaths are typically people who are also at risk from flu every year; kids are at essentially zero risk of death. Those are the facts. And we are actually interrupting kids‘ regular education—our investment in human capital—and impoverishing their families for this shit? THIS DOES NOT MAKE SENSE.
The kids who did well in school before will likely be fine. The kids who were at risk and struggling will not, particularly if their families do not have the resources to get them extra help. Educational and achievement gaps will widen.
they need to make an option after this school year that kids can repeat grades....no way can they be on track if this whole school year ends up being messed up
Of course, big time. One of our neighbors teaches MS in Williamsburg. He said he lost contact with 40% of his students in spring. I think the worse will be for young elementary though. I believe I read somewhere that kids who do not lear to read properly by 3rd grade are lost for ever.
Oh please. Exaggerate much?
Np That’s actually not an exaggeration. These kids also tend to be at-risk in other ways and the educational deficit compounds the problems, making it so that their educational and career attainment are permanently affected.
This is ridiculous. In the Scandinavian countries, which have the most educated population in thr world, kids don’t even start school until the age of 7 or 8!
undoubtedly. my kids are 4 and 7 and this will fundamentally change their academic progress in a lasting way. the only solution is have them repeat a year but for some reason we are not talking about this.
I agree. We need to start talking about how we normalize repeating a year now as come next school year, it could be possible that many children will need this. I can see many families unwilling to have kids repeat a grade because of the stigma.
i SO don't get it. I took a gap year. so what if kids graduate at 17, 18 or 19? It could not matter less in the grand scheme of things.
This! Signed, mother of a five and seven year old.
FWIW, I asked a teacher's forum how K can be adequately taught remotely. The most common answer I got was: "I normally do not support red-shirting, but this year it's different", "yeah, I've already suggested it to friends and family with young kids", "hold your kid back a year". You get the message.
For sure, if you have a little one going into K, no point. Better off teaching yourself or finding a private preschool that is open (and many have expanded their offerings, some include K class).
We red-shirted DC 2 years ago, so she was in K last year. I am so glad we did. She was over prepared for K (emotionally and academically) so the switch to remote in Spring didn't impact her as much as some of the other kids. I struggled with the decision for a while, but I am now so glad.
With no faculty around for face-to-face interaction and no classmates who can help with constant reminders about pending assignments, the chances of getting distracted and losing track of deadlines are high.
We shouldn't dismiss the impact this has had on HS kids. Many many have simply disappeared, or failing all classes - we are talking about many kids who will not graduate HS. And its much more difficult to "make up" in HS as everything is dependent on prior. I am not sure there is any plan at this point to address the major issues at this level.
A very valid question, though I think that if we ask it, we also have to ask what we all think we’re doing wrong if one year at age 12 or whatever risks setting a child back for life. Life is very long. It’s neither a conveyor belt nor a hamster wheel.
My family moved here from a foreign country and my siblings all basically lost a year of school due to the upheaval, having to learn a new language, etc. They are all fine. I have many criticisms of how education and children’s issues were handled during the pandemic, but I’m not ready to call doom on an entire generation.
It's going to be bad. we moved to get in person school in November and my kids were both really far behind after just 9 mos of remote/ summer. They are just starting to get into the ballpark of where they should be. I must emphasize this is not about 'oh but if everyone is behind then it doesn't matter' - it was literally holding them back from where their brains wanted to be - eg my 7 yo was ready to read proper chapter books and write fluently literally couldn't and i couldn't personally get him there.
That will happen for all kids. Not only for those who were weak before the pandemic. That is why we started to look for a new daycare right after our previous one closed for an undefined period. By the way, I do not know if it was open or went bankrupt. We were lucky to find a free place in one of the Little Scholars daycares in Brooklyn. I must say that their education program helped my son to improve his knowledge in many subjects and totally prepare for school. But I still worry about him as they do remote studying at school now. He is losing all those skills he got in the preschool.