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Tuesday, November 17, 2020

John Thompson: COVID and Schools in Oklahoma | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson: COVID and Schools in Oklahoma | Diane Ravitch's blog
John Thompson: COVID and Schools in Oklahoma



John Thompson, historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma, is concerned about the lackadaisical responses of elected officials in his state and reliance on Big Data, not science.

The headlines could not be clearer; we’re headed for a disastrous surge in COVID-19. But many of the same public health experts who previously called for shutdowns and, recently, some top journalists are pushing the position that we should continue to reopen schools, even as they warn that community transmission of the virus continues. I am becoming more worried that some of those data-driven public health experts, who I respect, are stepping out of their lanes and giving advice to institutions, urban schools, that they may not understand, and the result could be disastrous.

The motivation is the sincere concern for children, especially the most vulnerable, who suffer from school closures.  A common meme in this debate, however, involves noneducators describing their children’s CONTINUE READING: John Thompson: COVID and Schools in Oklahoma | Diane Ravitch's blog