Two years into this pandemic, we know something crucial that we didn’t know at its start: Children, miraculously, face a negligible risk for severe outcomes from Covid-19. And yet kids—from preschool to university—have borne the burden of our most draconian policies. While the rest of us have returned to bars and restaurants, pre-schoolers are still in masks. The Los Angeles school district announced last Friday that “masking will be required at all times, indoors and outdoors.”
The extent to which Covid policies have disrupted the social, intellectual and emotional growth of American kids—including some of the poorest and most vulnerable—is among the most morally urgent issues right now. (Leading doctors and public health experts agree: See this useful toolkit for parents just released by Dr. Lucy McBride and others.)
Were these measures necessary? Is the current cure worse than the disease itself? How are young people really doing? And what should concerned parents and teachers do to help?
On Monday, January 31st, at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST, I’ll be asking these questions and many more to three people who have skin in the game: AJ Kay, Jane Kitchen, and Alex Gutentag.
AJ Kay is a writer and mom of four who currently serves as managing editor of Collateral Global.
Jane Kitchen is a 19-year-old undergraduate student who recently transferred to Hillsdale College.
Alex Gutentag is a public school teacher in California and a columnist at Tablet.
This event is co-sponsored by Tablet and is part of their monthly series called “The Turn,” which focuses on the political homelessness of our current moment. If you missed the first event in the series, with Liel Leibovitz and Walter Kirn, you can catch it here.
Usually, events like these are accessible to paid subscribers only, but this time we’re opening the door to all of you. Capacity for the room is 3,000 people. If we hit that number—I hope we do!—and you can’t get in, don’t worry: We’ll be sharing a recording of the event.
As always, we want to hear from you. So please come with questions in mind.
Here’s the Zoom information:
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83661591580
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Or Telephone:
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Webinar ID: 836 6159 1580
International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbV4LCqTUj
