When we were kids we could run and play without fear or favor. School was a place we walked or cycled to and greeted friends. Nowadays ‘going viral’ is back to its original meaning. UNESCO says education is taking a knock for 1.6 billion school kids in 190 countries. Are 90% of the world’s school-age children becoming a lost generation in the shadow of a virus? Will things ever be the same for them again?
Can the ‘Lost Generation in the Shadow of the Virus’ Catch Up?
The answer depends on the intent behind the question. Rich kids will catch up on their education program with extra classes. They can home school on the internet while they wait for their class to reopen. The poorest of the poor will be hit the hardest though. That’s because there’s no capacity in the system to repeat an entire school year. Education will be the loser.
Cognitive, emotional and social development will slow too, says Richard Armitage of University of Nottingham, England. He told BBC the risk is greatest in critical phases of adolescence. There’s a shadow of mental illness hanging over our lost generation in the shadow of a virus. Kids cannot run and play freely in a face mask.
Can We Afford to Keep Schools Closed Any Longer Then?
We don’t know the extent that closing schools is helping control the virus. We don’t have a control group with which to compare. However, Richard Armitage says a ‘lack of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence’. And when kids do eventually return to school things will be different. They will have to keep a distance when they greet their friends.
Alison Andrew of Institute of Fiscal Studies thinks kids from poorest homes will be the biggest losers. They are unlikely to have quiet study areas at home. Moreover, there’s evidence kids of poorer parents are more likely to catch the COVID-19. The lost generation in the shadow of a virus may scar society for decades to come.
Related
Remote Working is Not for All of Us
Tracing the Coronavirus to Everyday Places
Preview Image: A Child in the Shadow of a Virus
