Description

The pandemic has touched almost every aspect of our lives. Some of the most lasting harm was visited on children. The childcare system in America collapsed, mothers were driven from the workforce, in the early days children went hungry in record numbers, and the bulk of our schools remained closed longer than our peer countries. Though it is segregated, inequitable, and starved for resources, the American school system is the biggest, most reliable social welfare institution for 50 million children. When schools were abruptly shut, children missed basic medical care like vaccinations. Depression, anxiety, suicidality, obesity, eating disorders, and diabetes climbed. Two years into the pandemic, many of our schools are still struggling to keep school staffed and students healthy, safe, and cared for. Education reporter Anya Kamenetz (FAN ’15, ’18) explores these questions in her new book The Stolen Year: How Covid Changed Children’s Lives, and Where We Go Now, showing how the last true social safety net—the public school system—was decimated by the pandemic, and how years of short-sighted political decisions have failed to put our children first. Kamenetz has won multiple awards for her reporting on education, technology, and innovation and is the author of four previous books: Generation Debt, DIY U, The Test, and The Art of Screen Time. Kamenetz is currently an advisor to the Aspen Institute on a new initiative to end climate silence in children’s media.