{"id":396082,"date":"2022-01-19T06:19:58","date_gmt":"2022-01-19T03:19:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/school-closures-during-covid-have-been-made-with-politics-in-mind-not-science\/"},"modified":"2022-01-19T06:19:58","modified_gmt":"2022-01-19T03:19:58","slug":"school-closures-during-covid-have-been-made-with-politics-in-mind-not-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/school-closures-during-covid-have-been-made-with-politics-in-mind-not-science\/","title":{"rendered":"#School closures during COVID have been made with politics in mind, not science"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2d268fc62bb\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2d268fc62bb\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/school-closures-during-covid-have-been-made-with-politics-in-mind-not-science\/#Mental_physical_harm\" >Mental, physical harm<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/school-closures-during-covid-have-been-made-with-politics-in-mind-not-science\/#Here_we_go_again\" >Here we go again<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/school-closures-during-covid-have-been-made-with-politics-in-mind-not-science\/#Dems_Remote_Control\" >Dems\u2019 Remote Control<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#School closures during COVID have been made with politics in mind, not <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a><\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The long-term closing of schools, and the harm it did to children nationwide, was a decision based not on health, but on politics \u2014 thanks to teachers unions and the Democratic politicians they fund.<\/p>\n<p>A study by researchers at Michigan State University found that when governors left it up to districts whether to have in-person education in the fall of 2020, the \u201cdecisions were more tied to local political partisanship and union strength than to COVID-19 severity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This despite the fact that politicians already knew children were less at risk for COVID.<\/p>\n<p>Follow the science? More like follow the political science.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mental_physical_harm\"><\/span>Mental, physical harm<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Freedom of Information Act documents showed major teachers unions lobbied the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on school reopenings. In fact, e-mails The Post acquired revealed that the CDC adopted Randi Weingarten\u2019s American Federation of Teachers\u2019 suggested language for this guidance nearly verbatim at least twice. Government officials were also told to factor teachers union contract negotiations into their reopening guidance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These union-induced school closures harm students academically, mentally and physically, with virtually no reduction in overall coronavirus transmission or child mortality.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A study published in the National Bureau of Economic Research working-paper <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a>, for example, found that math learning loss was \u201c10.1 percentage points smaller for districts fully in-person\u201d relative to remote districts in 2020-21.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-158.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Facilities manager Charles Fabian stands in an empty classroom at Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy in Brooklyn borough of New York.\" class=\"wp-image-20881157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-158.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-158.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-158.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>School closures that have led to virtual learning came with \u201cmental health consequences.\u201d<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that \u201cattending school remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with disproportionate mental health consequences for older and Black and Hispanic children as well as children from families with lower income.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The teachers unions just might have overplayed their hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Our new study from the group I work for, the American Federation for Children, suggests the push to close public schools backfired for power-hungry unions by enticing families to vote with their feet:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We find that \u2014 even independent of COVID risk and several other local demographic factors \u2014 school closures have significantly shifted families toward homeschooling and private education.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We found that a full transition from in-person to remote instruction was associated with a 2.3 percentage point increase in households homeschooling.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-159.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Charlie Dale, left, works on his math notebook with help from his older sister Maddi Dale as their mother cooks pancakes in their home in Lake Oswego, Ore., Oct. 30, 2020.\" class=\"wp-image-20881158\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-159.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-159.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-159.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Data has shown that children across different race and income backgrounds have suffered mentally from remote learning.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>These estimated effects cannot be accounted for by differences across states in demographic factors, infection or death rates, among many other variables. Moreover, that the proportion of households who homeschool their children in 2021 is roughly double the pre-pandemic rate \u2014 even after many schools returned to in-person learning \u2014 shows that the uptick in homeschooling is not just a fad.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u200aAnother study found some evidence to suggest that public-school remote instruction was associated with private-school enrollment boosts. Private schools have been much more likely than public schools to provide in-person services and staying open for business probably attracted new customers. A recent study published in the Journal of School Choice similarly found that private schools in areas with closed public-school districts were more likely to experience enrollment increases in fall 2020.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Meanwhile, research by Cambridge University Press found that public-school districts located in areas with more Catholic private schools were more likely to reopen in person in fall 2020, suggesting incentives play a role in these decisions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The latest data from 42 states also indicate that public charter schools, which must compete for their customers, experienced a 7.1% boost in enrollment in 2020-21, whereas district-run public schools lost 3.3%, or about 1.5 million, of their students.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Students line up to have their temperature checked before entering PS 179 elementary school in Brooklyn.\" class=\"wp-image-20881159\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>New York City public schools have experienced drastic enrollment decreases in the past two years.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>New York City district school enrollment dropped by about 64,000 students, or about 4.7 percent, from pre-pandemic levels, whereas charter school enrollment increased 3.2% this school year. That\u2019s bad <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> for the district because public schools are funded based on enrollment counts. Perhaps ironically, the news is doubly bad for the teachers unions, considering the recent surge in support for \u2014 and expansion of \u2014 school choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Here_we_go_again\"><\/span>Here we go again<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Now it\u2019s h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ening all over again.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>More than 5,500 US public schools closed each of the first two weeks of 2022, according to school information aggregator Burbio.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Nearly two years after \u201ctwo weeks to slow the spread,\u201d many teachers unions are still fighting to close public schools. Factions within New York City\u2019s largest teachers union, the United Federation of Teachers, pushed to close schools for in-person instruction earlier this month. Some union members even filed a lawsuit to close schools for \u201ctwo weeks\u201d again.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-161.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers\" class=\"wp-image-20881160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-161.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-161.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-161.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten has played a role in the language the CDC has used in guidance.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Stefan Jeremiah<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The most advantaged parents are more likely to have the resources to send their children to private schools when the public-school system fails them. Funding students directly with vouchers would be an equalizer by allowing more families to access educational opportunities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The latest Census Bureau data show New York City public schools spent more than $35,000 per student in 2019. It\u2019s time to give that money directly to families so they can find alternatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-162.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"An electronic sign at South High Magnet School in Omaha, Nebraska.\" class=\"wp-image-20881252\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-162.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-162.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-162.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Over 5,500 public schools had closed each of the first two weeks of the new year.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The fact that the closing of schools was a political decision, based on the symbiotic relationship between teachers unions and the Democratic Party, shows why school choice is so important. Don\u2019t let them decide for us how and where our children learn.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Corey DeAngelis is the national director of research at the American Federation for Children, an adjunct scholar at Cato Institute and a senior fellow at Reason Foundation. Christos A. Makridis is a research affiliate at Stanford University and Columbia Business School and an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dems_Remote_Control\"><\/span>Dems\u2019 Remote Control<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A study by Michigan State University researchers found that whether schools were open or remote in the fall of 2020 did not reflect the danger of COVID \u2014 but rather whether Democrats were in charge. As an example, they examined Michigan:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Michigan has more than 500 traditional public-school districts and nearly 300 charter school districts. Each school district had broad discretion on what to do that fall.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAs of August 2020, 59% of districts planned to provide at least the option of fully in-person education and 12% were fully remote only (others pursued hybrid strategies).\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The districts with the lowest share of Democratic voters had 72% in-person instruction. In districts with the highest share, only 41% offered in-person school.<\/li>\n<li>In districts where teachers unions had collective bargaining agreements, schools were only 50% in-person \u2014 in non-CBA districts, it was 75% in-person.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Additionally, \u201cWe also find that traditional public school districts in Michigan with a higher proportion of black students are significantly less likely to have plans to begin the school year in-person.\u201d\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The number of COVID cases did not correlate greatly with whether schools were opened or closed. Researchers found that \u201cdecisions were more tied to political partisanship and union strength than to COVID-19 severity.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Source: \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.3102\/0013189X211048840\">All States Close but Red Districts Reopen: The Politics of In-Person Schooling During the COVID-19 Pandemic<\/a>,\u201d by Matt Grossmann, Sarah Reckhow, Katharine O. Strunk, Meg Turner\u00a0<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/01\/18\/school-closures-during-covid-have-been-made-with-politics-in-mind-not-science\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#School closures during COVID have been made with politics in mind, not science&#8221; The long-term closing of schools, and the harm it did to children nationwide, was a decision based not on health, but on politics \u2014 thanks to teachers unions and the Democratic politicians they fund. A study by researchers at Michigan State University&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":396083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/covid-class-war-index.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[124238,71464,73787,14580,1545,10701,54080,120464,70308,74212,101412,70603,72939,72940],"class_list":["post-396082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-1-18-22","tag-cdc","tag-charter-schools","tag-children","tag-coronavirus","tag-democrats","tag-michigan","tag-omicron-variant","tag-private-schools","tag-public-schools","tag-randi-weingarten","tag-remote-learning","tag-teachers-union","tag-united-federation-of-teachers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}