Lelac Almago, an 18-year veteran 4th-grade teacher at a public charter school in Washington, DC, has a brutal op-ed in today’s New York Times titled, “I Taught Online School This Year. It Was a Disgrace” that should bust the narrative once and for all that remote learning was adequate over the past year:
“Spare me your ‘the kids are all right’ Facebook memes. Some children may have learned to do laundry or enjoy nature during the pandemic. Many others suffered trauma and disconnection that will take years to repair.” – Lelac Almagor, 4th grade teacher https://t.co/yqCY7EtLr5
— Connie Schultz (@ConnieSchultz) June 16, 2021
You can read it for free here:
Update: No-paywall gift link! https://t.co/dtShVhGX73
— Ms. Almagor (@MsAlmagor) June 16, 2021
She went on to question why our public schools didn’t do more to get kids in school:
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“More of our public school systems should have likewise moved mountains — repurposed buildings, reassigned staff, redesigned programming, reallocated funding — to offer consistent public schooling, as safely as possible, to all children.” https://t.co/AuaJLeTpXu
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) June 16, 2021
Psst: It was the unions:
"Stripped of classroom discussion, human connection, art materials, classroom libraries, time and space to play, virtual school was not school; it was busywork obscuring the 'rubber-rooming' of the entire school system." https://t.co/dXIU4Q3y8p
— Robert Pondiscio (@rpondiscio) June 16, 2021
This never should have happened:
I cannot amplify this piece strongly enough. https://t.co/Z61W6ZEO9R pic.twitter.com/oj8udQvb4d
— ProfEmilyOster (@ProfEmilyOster) June 16, 2021
Now, to be fair, for every parent like this one. . .
Agree 100% with this teacher. I will never ever forgive our society for collectively deciding that keeping schools open was not a priority. Virtual school was one of the most baffling things I have ever experienced as a parent. https://t.co/1WnoS4iHt9
— Jelena Subotic (@suboticjelena) June 16, 2021
. . .there are those out there who were completely okay with online school, even if it was their kids who were being hurt by it:
So I basically agree with this piece but I think it evades the reality that here in DC at least it was precisely the families that you and I think most needed in-person instruction who in practice least wanted it.
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) June 16, 2021
Again, blame the unions for this:
I think that's fair, but I also blame policy for not doing more to make families feel secure in in-person schooling. These differences were much less stark in many places that opened more fully.
— ProfEmilyOster (@ProfEmilyOster) June 16, 2021
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