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The Damage From Limiting Real School

By September 10, 2020Commentary

A paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research examines the impacts from using CV-19 as an excuse to keep children from having a normal educational experience.   (NBER Study)   I am providing this in a separate post to emphasize the concern that I feel and I believe should be shared by everyone in regard to the absurd approach many states are taking to schools.  There is no question in my mind that we are doing long-term damage to children for no reason.  “Virtual” education is BS.  And we are putting many parents in a horrible bind–how are they supposed to work and monitor their children’s education.  This is a pathetic joke.  The teachers’ unions should be, but won’t be, deeply ashamed.   It is an unspeakable tragedy.  And it is political.  A California school official was taped saying that there wouldn’t be normal school until after the election.

The paper emphasizes this by calculating the earnings loss to the children and the “welfare” loss to society from the lower educational attainment.  Welfare in this context means the general social good and productivity.   For younger children, the loss is greater because of the cumulative effects of lack of skill attainment at an earlier grade impacts skill attainment in later grades.  The authors estimate a 3.8% drop in the share of children with a high school diploma and a 2.7% reduction in those with college degrees, just as a result of what has happened and is happening to school.

While parents can offset the negative effect of loss of education, they cannot fully make it up, and parents with low educational attainment and low assets are the least able to help their children.  I have personally heard from parents who have hired tutors for their children, or who are going to home-school their children.  Others move the kids to private schools.  All this takes money.  So low-income and minority children, as usual, get hurt the worst.  Income inequality will be exacerbated.  The negative effect of fake schooling on parents’ ability to work further lessens the financial capability of those parents to make up for what the children are losing.  And the so-called progressives who supposedly care so much about these groups are the ones pushing to keep schools shut.

Somebody needs to pay a price for what they are doing to children–lawsuits, jail terms, reparations, something for this absolutely criminal conduct.

Join the discussion 3 Comments

  • Ellen says:

    The Supreme Court taking prayer out of public school in 1962, the federal government creating a Department of Education in 1979, and teachers unions are all about taking education of our children out of the hands of parents, teachers, and their communities. The P & T were taken out of the PTA a long time ago. Running for office is very expensive; how do you think the lib-tards on school boards financed their campaigns?

  • Ellen says:

    P.S. NEA: TROJAN HORSE IN AMERICAN EDUCATION by Samuel L. Blumenfeld

  • Rob says:

    The #1 selling point of public schools is convenience, not quality. People of all socioeconomic classes will find more convenient alternatives if they are allowed to, and it would be hard to argue the alternatives would be of lower quality.

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