The Covid 19 pandemic was not great for most business, but in the wake of the pandemic school closings a small industry of educational researchers has made headlines warning about “pandemic learning loss.” In contrast, writing for the Foundation for Economic Education, Kerry McDonald argues that any loss from remote learning during the pandemic is trivially different from a similar loss likely to be experienced over time from schooling that fails to engage students in meaningful ways, whether face-to-face or remote. She highlights the value of non-coercive self-directed learning opportunities for meaningful learning, a message that seems lost on the community of educational researchers and policy makers intent on doubling down on schooling. Rather than fretting over a generation of students who missed schooling during the pandemic, perhaps we should be asking why more children did not seize the time freed during the pandemic to engage in self-directed activities.
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