Cannot wait to listen to this. MacGillis is an incredible reporter, and his deep reporting on crime and policing has influenced my research. Can't think of anyone in this business I admire more for honesty and depth.
Once again, your guest has highlighted the bubbles that exist in society. There is no reason for various groups (class / professions) to actually interact and get to know each other. Decisions are being made by people who have no idea what the impact of their decisions will be on other people. This is exasperated by the fact that they have no one in their lives who is impacted negatively. The Uber Driver who delivers their take out is a mystery.
This was true before covid, but covid made things far worse. That school closures would have a negative impact on the most vulnerable children was obvious to anyone who had any connection to those children. Unfortunately, the people who make decisions are very limited in their knowledge and experience. (A major failing of our educational institutions)
If there is a solution it is in decentralization of power, money, and decision making so that people have have the ability to participate in the decisions that impact their lives.
Such a great interview. I have friends who are teachers here in AB and I've asked for their thoughts on this reporting. Wondering if we're seeing the same issues here
Some sort of "truth and reconciliation" commission is needed to shine real light on this issue, understand why this learning disruption was allowed to happen given the knowledge that young people were not at high risk from COVID, why those who warned against the shut-it-down approach were largely ignored, silenced and in many instances vilified, haul those responsible for this moral catastrophe (see https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40592-022-00161-9#:~:text=Rather%2C%20I%20mean%20that%20school,further%20catastrophe%20down%20the%20road.) in for testimony and cross-examination, fully document the consequences of this moral catastrophe, and above all ensure that this is never allowed to happen again. This will do nothing to fix the current (and future) problems arising from the fiasco that was the hysterical and irrational response to COVID, but it may do something to protect young people in the future from a repeat performance. Unfortunately, at least in Canada, governments are less than willing to have their actions critically and thoroughly examined. Ditto in the U.S.
My 2 kids were in 5th and 9th grade in March of 2020. Parents who tried to initiate thoughtful discussion about reopening schools were smeared as "grandma killers" and "just wanting to get the kids out of the house".
I have a family member who is a college professor and that person has seen a huge difference in the students coming in to college post-covid. Their academic preparedness is worse - not knowing basic things like "what is 10% of 100?". This has happened more than once! How can someone graduate high school not knowing that?! But also huge difference in the students' mental health - they're extremely fragile and don't show up for class if they're sad or worried about something ("mental health crisis".) This does not bode well for society at large.
Your guest confirmed what I predicted on social media three years ago and for which I was roundly abused. I was distressed to hear him blame Donald Trump for the failure to act on his insistence to re-open schools in the summer of 2020. I, too, dislike Donald Trump but the fallback tendency of people to blame him for their own mistakes, miscalculations, and small thinking is really getting boring. In the absence of real policy, blame the other guy.
Out here in the interior of B.C. The trend is more homeschooling with hands on learning. 7 of my 10 grandchildren are homeschooling. They are all very active in the community by working part time jobs, 4H, martial arts, baseball, cross country sking, actively engaged in their faith community. Perhaps in the big city's the youth feel isolated, abandoned, ignored by society.
Yes. I made a similar comment on her transcript of the article. There is a HUGE growth in kids just simply not being enrolled in school at all anymore. The schools are in bad shape and it’s not a great place to be for a lot of kids.
Finally finished, fantastic episode, thank you Tara. Alec combines basic human decency, a dogged pursuit of truth, and a focus on things that really matter. I've admired him for years, mostly for his work on crime and policing. Hope to hear from him again on your show.
Some of the folks who most frustrated me during covid times were my comfortably middle class mom friends who seemed to feel that it was OK for other people's less wealthy kids to miss out on all the things they get from school, for a disease that was unlikely to harm them. Often the argument went something like a righteous 'but there's this one immune compromised kid (in a school of 1000)' or the classic 'but what about granny?' My thought was always that we could do better, and come up with a solution for the one kid who might be truly harmed by covid, or for fragile granny. Sacrificing a whole swath of a younger generation is counter-intuitive for our civilization's future thriving. But such arguments seemed to disappear in a miasma of fear.
Cannot wait to listen to this. MacGillis is an incredible reporter, and his deep reporting on crime and policing has influenced my research. Can't think of anyone in this business I admire more for honesty and depth.
Once again, your guest has highlighted the bubbles that exist in society. There is no reason for various groups (class / professions) to actually interact and get to know each other. Decisions are being made by people who have no idea what the impact of their decisions will be on other people. This is exasperated by the fact that they have no one in their lives who is impacted negatively. The Uber Driver who delivers their take out is a mystery.
This was true before covid, but covid made things far worse. That school closures would have a negative impact on the most vulnerable children was obvious to anyone who had any connection to those children. Unfortunately, the people who make decisions are very limited in their knowledge and experience. (A major failing of our educational institutions)
If there is a solution it is in decentralization of power, money, and decision making so that people have have the ability to participate in the decisions that impact their lives.
Such a great interview. I have friends who are teachers here in AB and I've asked for their thoughts on this reporting. Wondering if we're seeing the same issues here
I'm in AB too and would be interested in your reply here if anyone responds.
Some sort of "truth and reconciliation" commission is needed to shine real light on this issue, understand why this learning disruption was allowed to happen given the knowledge that young people were not at high risk from COVID, why those who warned against the shut-it-down approach were largely ignored, silenced and in many instances vilified, haul those responsible for this moral catastrophe (see https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40592-022-00161-9#:~:text=Rather%2C%20I%20mean%20that%20school,further%20catastrophe%20down%20the%20road.) in for testimony and cross-examination, fully document the consequences of this moral catastrophe, and above all ensure that this is never allowed to happen again. This will do nothing to fix the current (and future) problems arising from the fiasco that was the hysterical and irrational response to COVID, but it may do something to protect young people in the future from a repeat performance. Unfortunately, at least in Canada, governments are less than willing to have their actions critically and thoroughly examined. Ditto in the U.S.
My 2 kids were in 5th and 9th grade in March of 2020. Parents who tried to initiate thoughtful discussion about reopening schools were smeared as "grandma killers" and "just wanting to get the kids out of the house".
I have a family member who is a college professor and that person has seen a huge difference in the students coming in to college post-covid. Their academic preparedness is worse - not knowing basic things like "what is 10% of 100?". This has happened more than once! How can someone graduate high school not knowing that?! But also huge difference in the students' mental health - they're extremely fragile and don't show up for class if they're sad or worried about something ("mental health crisis".) This does not bode well for society at large.
Your guest confirmed what I predicted on social media three years ago and for which I was roundly abused. I was distressed to hear him blame Donald Trump for the failure to act on his insistence to re-open schools in the summer of 2020. I, too, dislike Donald Trump but the fallback tendency of people to blame him for their own mistakes, miscalculations, and small thinking is really getting boring. In the absence of real policy, blame the other guy.
Out here in the interior of B.C. The trend is more homeschooling with hands on learning. 7 of my 10 grandchildren are homeschooling. They are all very active in the community by working part time jobs, 4H, martial arts, baseball, cross country sking, actively engaged in their faith community. Perhaps in the big city's the youth feel isolated, abandoned, ignored by society.
Yes. I made a similar comment on her transcript of the article. There is a HUGE growth in kids just simply not being enrolled in school at all anymore. The schools are in bad shape and it’s not a great place to be for a lot of kids.
Finally finished, fantastic episode, thank you Tara. Alec combines basic human decency, a dogged pursuit of truth, and a focus on things that really matter. I've admired him for years, mostly for his work on crime and policing. Hope to hear from him again on your show.
An excellent interview. Thank you to both you and Alec MacGillis, Tara!
Some of the folks who most frustrated me during covid times were my comfortably middle class mom friends who seemed to feel that it was OK for other people's less wealthy kids to miss out on all the things they get from school, for a disease that was unlikely to harm them. Often the argument went something like a righteous 'but there's this one immune compromised kid (in a school of 1000)' or the classic 'but what about granny?' My thought was always that we could do better, and come up with a solution for the one kid who might be truly harmed by covid, or for fragile granny. Sacrificing a whole swath of a younger generation is counter-intuitive for our civilization's future thriving. But such arguments seemed to disappear in a miasma of fear.
If they are going to get rid of testing and meritocracy it won't make much difference.
Good luck people.