Were Schools Bad Before Covid? Does the Educational Experience Need to be Reexamined Before we Return?

The Best Paragraph I've Read: "Pandemic school is clearly not working well, especially for younger children—and it’s all but impossible for the 20 percent of American students who lack access to the technology needed for remote learning. But what parents are coming to understand about their kids’ education—glimpsed through Zoom windows and “asynchronous” classwork—is that school was not always working so great before COVID-19 either. Like a tsunami that pulls away from the coast, leaving an exposed stretch of land, the pandemic has revealed long-standing inattention to children’s developmental needs—needs as basic as exercise, outdoor time, conversation, play, even sleep. All of the challenges of educating young children that we have minimized for years have suddenly appeared like flotsam on a beach at low tide, reeking and impossible to ignore. Parents are not only seeing how flawed and glitch-riddled remote teaching is—they’re discovering that many of the problems of remote schooling are merely exacerbations of problems with in-person schooling." This paragraph come from an article in the Atlantic titled: "School Wasn't So Great Before Covid, Either."  The story is written by Erika Christakis.  The story can be read here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/12/school-wasnt-so-great-before-covid-either/616923/ Zac and Don talk about whether this article is accurate.  Were schools working before the pandemic?  What is wrong with schools?  What is Right?  During their discussion Zac and Don also reference the following articles and books. Washington Post Article: "Failing grades spike in Virginia's largest school system as online learning gap emerges nationwide" https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-schools-more-failing-grades/2020/11/24/1ac2412e-2e34-11eb-96c2-aac3f162215d_story.html Wall Street Journal Article: "Why Boys Are More at Risk of Falling Behind During Remote School" https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-boys-are-more-at-risk-of-falling-behind-during-remote-school-11606222801 Book: "In Search of Deeper Learning" https://www.amazon.com/Search-Deeper-Learning-Remake-American/dp/0674988396 Documentary Film: "Most Likely to Succeed" https://teddintersmith.com/mltsfilm/