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A review by smlozinski
Pandemia: How Coronavirus Hysteria Took Over Our Government, Rights, and Lives by Alex Berenson
4.0
Very enjoyable and educational. Well, as enjoyable as a book on such a topic really can be. I highlighted over two dozen passages on my kindle, often with my jaw hanging open. I already knew quite a lot about the topics Berenson discusses, but there were some shocking facts I had not heard elsewhere, or had just understood/taken in when I read them the first time.
The author has a knack for writing to normal people. I just wish any of my family members would be willing to read it. That’s the second biggest flaw of this book - those who would benefit most probably won’t read it. Of course, that’s no fault of the author.
The first-biggest flaw comes in regard to the author’s points about schools. Particularly his claim that if kids don’t go to school teachers won’t catch abuse, and that it’s somehow vital for outside government employees (he didn’t use that wording of course) to check up on our kids.
While I agree schools need to exist, and for many kids they are necessary in our society as it is, I resent the implication that they are a necessity /for education/. They’re not. They’re necessary because of the two income family structure we’ve incentivized, that has worsened poverty for many families (see the very left wing Elizabeth Warren’s “To Income Trap”).
The fact that so many communities absolutely require free daycare for their kids to be properly cared for and fed is an indictment of our society pre Covid, not post covid.
As far as education goes, I was not surprised at how lacklustre distance learning was. Again: this is a problem because most mothers have to work. Mothers who are home full time could have provided a superior education to what their kids were getting in in-person school. Even on their own, especially in the younger grades who had the toughest time with screen learning (there is of course a place for virtual learning, especially in the older grades). Many families temporarily pulled their kids from school and did just that.
What so many miss in the talk of closing schools is that /their kids were not getting a great education there either/. While it is true teachers were expected to throw together virtual stuff, especially for young children who really can’t learn in that way very well, it’s not like the quality went from 90% to 10%. The fact is that no teacher, no matter how wonderful, can give full attention to a massive class of children, cover everything the government wants covered, and prepare for testing. Schools have gotten worse and worse. Add the insane wholeness being taught and I’m amazed how many still put up with them.
The state of education in the era of lockdowns should prompt parents everywhere to ask real, hard questions about the state of the classroom before this all began.
Indeed, the brightest silver lining of this whole thing is how many parents have chosen to homeschool their children for good. Maybe if parents taught their own children, we wouldn’t have a generation so willing to go along with tyranny without so much as a question. Food for thought.
The author has a knack for writing to normal people. I just wish any of my family members would be willing to read it. That’s the second biggest flaw of this book - those who would benefit most probably won’t read it. Of course, that’s no fault of the author.
The first-biggest flaw comes in regard to the author’s points about schools. Particularly his claim that if kids don’t go to school teachers won’t catch abuse, and that it’s somehow vital for outside government employees (he didn’t use that wording of course) to check up on our kids.
While I agree schools need to exist, and for many kids they are necessary in our society as it is, I resent the implication that they are a necessity /for education/. They’re not. They’re necessary because of the two income family structure we’ve incentivized, that has worsened poverty for many families (see the very left wing Elizabeth Warren’s “To Income Trap”).
The fact that so many communities absolutely require free daycare for their kids to be properly cared for and fed is an indictment of our society pre Covid, not post covid.
As far as education goes, I was not surprised at how lacklustre distance learning was. Again: this is a problem because most mothers have to work. Mothers who are home full time could have provided a superior education to what their kids were getting in in-person school. Even on their own, especially in the younger grades who had the toughest time with screen learning (there is of course a place for virtual learning, especially in the older grades). Many families temporarily pulled their kids from school and did just that.
What so many miss in the talk of closing schools is that /their kids were not getting a great education there either/. While it is true teachers were expected to throw together virtual stuff, especially for young children who really can’t learn in that way very well, it’s not like the quality went from 90% to 10%. The fact is that no teacher, no matter how wonderful, can give full attention to a massive class of children, cover everything the government wants covered, and prepare for testing. Schools have gotten worse and worse. Add the insane wholeness being taught and I’m amazed how many still put up with them.
The state of education in the era of lockdowns should prompt parents everywhere to ask real, hard questions about the state of the classroom before this all began.
Indeed, the brightest silver lining of this whole thing is how many parents have chosen to homeschool their children for good. Maybe if parents taught their own children, we wouldn’t have a generation so willing to go along with tyranny without so much as a question. Food for thought.