Back in the summer of 2020, I warned the public loudly about the long and short-term impact of closing schools. Not only was the emerging COVID pandemic likely to spread into communities even more if schools were closed, but the damage done to children in terms of learning and socialization would be prodigious and long-term.

It turned out I was right, and not just because there was no real science to back these closures but because public health strategies should not be based on fear but on a balance that accounts for the consequences of any superimposed action or limitation. Fear-driven strategies to contain or control always backfire.

I didn’t need to see the impact on math and reading test scores back in 2020 to know they would happen. It was predictable that by 2024, an Education Week State of Teaching survey would find teachers are concerned about an erosion of basic skills, with socialization, sharing and........

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