Pandemic-related restrictions have devastated projects that educate children. announced the news that it had fallen to a level All demographic groups underperformed, but losses were greatest for minorities and the poor.

The announcement was greeted with big, surprised hands, but let’s not surprise anyone.The parents who opposed school closures knew what would happen. As NPR’s Anya Kamenets points out in her thoughtful new book, The Stolen Year:

exactly. It harms not only learning but also social development and mental health. But as the rationale for the shutdown evolved from “two weeks to slow the spread” to a series of unattainable goals, those of us who questioned this strategy were put in the worst possible situation. Our email inboxes were flooded with angry letters from readers accusing us of ignoring science, noting that children would suffer the most.

But the “science” was unclear from the start. For example, in 2013, the British Medical Journal published a review of more than 2,500 of his studies on the impact of school closures on the spread of influenza. The author’s conclusions are: “School closures appear to have the potential to reduce influenza transmission, but the heterogeneity of available data means that the optimal strategy (e.g. ideal duration and timing of closures) remains unclear. To do.”

A 2009 article in Health Affairs is candid about the limits of professional knowledge. It surrounds the adult community. “

Indeed, during the 1918 influenza pandemic, schools were closed early, reducing the prevalence. However, these shutdowns typically lasted between 2 and 8 weeks. (Slow closure had little to no impact.)

Still, there was a public health “consensus” that schools should remain closed… until… well, the goals seemed variable.

Early in the pandemic, I heard a public health “expert” on TV declare that no action is too extreme to save one life. Such claims do not constitute serious discussion and do not constitute academic teaching. But organizers treated the claim like a sacred warrant.

In his book, Kamenets laments that people he knew well didn’t speak up enough. To put it more realistically, those who knew better were drowned out and even accused of spreading misinformation. But allowing only one side of the debate on issues of public importance leads predictably to bad policy. And, in today’s parlance, it’s also a threat to democracy.

Perhaps the loss of education through distance learning could have been justified if it was shown that distance learning saved children’s lives. A study published in The Lancet in February confirmed that COVID-related deaths among school-aged children are significantly lower anywhere in the world. For example, the infection fatality rate for 5-year-olds averages about 0.0024%, or he is 2 in 100,000. And that’s the mortality rate of the very few infants who get it first.

Indeed, small children can spread disease to adults because of our understandable tendency to hold infants when they are sick, contrary to some reports early in the pandemic. Among cohabiting adults under age 65, the increased risk of hospitalization was small and the likelihood of COVID-related death was not increased. is.)

The British Medical Journal in 2021 states:

In other words, even if we adults were selfish enough to punish children for our own protection, closing schools didn’t seem to protect us from anything.

I’m not saying the closure wasn’t necessary. What I am saying is that there has never been a thoughtful public debate about how and for how long. It is the only rich country that has lost more than any other country in the world.” This is a shameful fact. In a series of episodes, she enumerates the harm young people suffer as a result of our wrong choices. If it’s important to blame someone, choose your favorite villain: Donald Trump, CDC, Teachers Union, News Media, Red Army or Blue Army. And once that practice is over, you can focus on what really matters: how to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Here are my suggestions on where to start: Next time, don’t let fear of the unknown drive you. Downgrade expert opinions that don’t cite data. Most importantly, let’s agree that what you need when you’re not sure is a solid, open conversation. Then we may find a way to survive the next pandemic without punishing our children.