Is Education Essential? June 25, 2020June 25, 2020 But first . . . Sixty-five faculty members from Barr’s law school — Republicans and Democrats alike — say he has “failed to fulfill his oath of office” — “undermined the rule of law, breached constitutional norms, and damaged the integrity and traditional independence of his office and of the Department of Justice.” Like the honey badger, Trump fans don’t care. And so democracy gives way to autocracy. If you doubt it, or that it could happen here, read Masha Gessen’s newly published Surviving Autocracy. I don’t want to survive autocracy. I want progressive, inclusive, hopeful democracy. So, as always, if you can: click here. And now (in a roundabout way, but I’ll get there) . . . STLB: “A question to pose for your readers: Why is it that the Americans who were allowed to return from China were not forced into quarantine when they returned? Could it be an incompetent administration?” A competent administration could have done this so much better — maintaining the pandemic preparations the Obama Administration had put in place — not, e.g., cutting the CDC presence in China by two-thirds. Coordinating the response, not leaving states to compete with each other bidding up the price of PPE. Educating and unifying, not dividing and misinforming. But we all know this. The question is, what now? One piece if this I’ve paid special attention to is the great news that the virus spares the young. Can you imagine how much more devastating it would be if the virus became more deadly the younger you were, hitting those in the first 25 years of life the hardest? But no: it is a fact, confirmed worldwide, that — with exceptions so rare they make the nightly news and scare people into not always thinking rationally — COVID spares the young. I keep that in mind when I read stories like this, from the Washington Post: Civil rights history tells us who loses when schools are closed. School is essential to any hope of equality of opportunity and to our democracy itself. Or this, from Wired: It’s Ridiculous to Treat Schools Like Covid Hot Zones Yes, says that piece (well worth reading in full) . . . Under any reopening plan, those who are most vulnerable to the disease should be allowed to opt out of working onsite until there is a vaccine or effective treatment. And adults who are present, when around each other, should wear masks and maintain proper social distancing. But some of the other measures being proposed? This isn’t biosafety—it’s pandemic theater. Anyone who is unsure whether we should open the schools — out of commendable concern for kids and teachers and everyone else — should read this for reassurance. (And this in Mother Jones? “Yet Another Study Says School Closures Have No Impact on COVID-19.” Or this in The Guardian? “Schools Reopening Has Not Triggered Rise in Covid-19 Cases, EU ministers Told. France’s Education Minister Says It Is More of a Risk Keeping Children at Home.” Or this in The Hill? “Science Says: Open The Schools.”) We for sure need to excuse elderly and/or health-compromised teachers and staff from going back to work. But for young healthy teachers? Even during the worst of the virus in New York, and now as it worsens elsewhere, we allow — indeed, depend upon — essential workers to keep working. Is education not essential? BONUS: Take A Knee / Take A Stand. A brand new effort launched just hours ago. Take A Look.