Young School Kids Struggle with In-Person Learning. NewsWire

NewsWire: 4/23/22

• As kids return to in-person learning, teachers are noticing that many elementary school children lack basic life skills. Kids aren’t just behind in academic subjects like reading and math; they’re also struggling to socialize. (The Washington Post)
  
• NH: Since schools first went online in March 2020, much ink has been spilled on how remote learning and isolation will affect students. Now we are starting to see the results.
• According to an analysis by McKinsey and Company, students started the 2021-2022 school year three months behind in reading and four months behind in math. Researchers also found that 22% of students were on track to be chronically absent, missing 15 days or more of school.
• Anecdotally, teachers have reported that early elementary school children have not developed many of the life skills expected for their age. Some are unable to tie their shoes. More are struggling to interact with other students. Many teachers report kids refusing to take turns on the playground and not sharing. Some kids seem extremely shy and don't want to participate in activities at all. 
• IMO, the biggest drawback with online learning is that it fails to socially engage kids. And many (perhaps most) kids require social engagement in order to learn--and not just learn the curriculum, but also learn how to perform in front of peers and adults. Zoom classrooms habituated school kids to talk less and to observe rather than participate. But I doubt there will be any long-term cost. Kids are adaptable and are hardwired to socialize quickly. As we wrote in an earlier NewsWire, children have lived through wars, natural disasters, and other pandemics. And they still turned into fully functional adults. (See “Will the Kids Be Alright?”)

Did You Know?

• Pandemic-Era Dating Isn’t Easy. In 2019, two-thirds of single Americans said that their dating lives were not going well. (See “Single Americans Struggle to Find Love.”) And now, three years into the pandemic, things have gotten worse. A majority of single-and-looking adults (63%), including similar shares of men and women, say that dating is harder now compared to before the pandemic. The younger they are, the more likely they are to believe it's harder. Just under a third (32%) said it has remained the same, while a mere 3% say it has gotten easier. One thing that the pandemic hasn’t really changed is what people are looking for: The majority of single adults (59%) say that they are no more or less interested in finding a committed relationship than they were before Covid-19 hit. However, this differs widely by age. Young adults (ages 18-29) are much more likely than older adults to say they’ve become more interested in finding a relationship (22% vs. just 9% of 30- to 49-year-olds).