Tania Tetlow wrote in an OpEd that the U.S. worked so hard for so long to ensure that children born into poverty could slowly but steadily catch up; but now, as a result of the pandemic, they’ve fallen massively behind.
“Amid the chaos currently afflicting higher education, there is another slow-moving disaster that has us all worried. The pandemic inflicted untold injury on the educational achievements of young people. In higher education, we already see the results on high school students, but we fret even more about the impact on little kids, the disruption of that all-important early childhood education. It is a ticking time bomb that cannot wait to be addressed until students come to our campuses, or worse, fail to come to college at all. Unless the nation does something, we all will take a serious hit in global competitiveness, to say nothing of our children’s opportunities.
Here is an idea. Let’s build a National Tutoring Corp. For decades we have discussed the benefits of national service, the kind of purpose-driven experience that would bond young people across the country. We may now face a crisis urgent enough to convince us to act. We should create a small army of tutors to help our children catch up from the pandemic gaps in their education.“
“We worked so hard for so long to ensure that children born into poverty could slowly but steadily catch up. Now they’ve fallen massively behind, and yet again we risk wasting their talent and crushing their dreams. I fear the next assessment of fourth and eighth graders during the 2023-24 school year will inspire more hand-wringing when its results are released.“
