September 3, 2020

"While President Trump has insisted that schools physically reopen, the private school his son Barron is attending is sticking with remote learning. Yes, that feels like a double standard...."

No, it doesn't. It's the same position an ordinary parent is in. You might want the schools to reopen, but you're stuck with they're deciding to do (or what local government is requiring them to do).

The quoted line is the beginning of "'Remote Learning' Is Often an Oxymoron/We need to try harder to get kids back in school" by Nicholas Kristof (NYT).

Now, I do see why Barron is dragged into this. He's a privileged kid and — like other privileged kids, including the offspring of Democratic politicians — he has a nice computer and internet access and a supportive environment and good food. It's the less affluent children who suffer the most with the schools closed.

So... Kristof agrees with Trump! But he still must complain about Trump: "I fear that Trump’s hyperbolic embrace of reopening schools has led Democrats to be instinctively wary." Note the implication that Democrats aren't really very good at looking at the science and deferring to the experts. They're "instinctively wary" — that is, they have an emotional reaction to Trump that keeps them from thinking straight.

55 comments:

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Shall we discuss all the democrat kids and hollywood kids who attend private schools?

Sebastian said...

"It's the less affluent children who suffer the most with the schools closed."

Yeah. Dems and teacher unions add to the suffering. Poor parents should sue.

"So... Kristof agrees with Trump! But he still must complain about Trump"

They can't help themselves.

"Note the implication that Democrats aren't really very good at looking at the science and deferring to the experts. They're "instinctively wary""

Like anything else, science is a tool for progs. They are all instinct, political instinct: non-prog bad, prog power good.

Temujin said...

Instinctively wary is how I live my life and have forever. It keeps me alive.

Ray - SoCal said...

Nice double standard.

Nicholas Kristof I think has children, and I wonder if they are in K-12 or university? If so, what type of schooling? Or does he have grand kids? Sounds like one kid is at Emmanuel - Gregory Kristof.

He may have 3 kids:
>The couple together has three children- Gregory Kristof, Geoffrey Kristof, and Caroline Kristof.
https://frostsnow.com/nicholas-kristof

It's hard to find information on them.

rcocean said...

Hello? Baron and Trump don't control his private school. If the private school doesn't open, there's not much Trump can do about it. He's not going to take his son Out of his favorite school and put him in another school just so Baron can go physically go to school. And that assumes Baron *wants* to physically go to school. It could be, as a Presidents son, he's been harassed and bullied and would prefer to stay home.

Are the D Senators and Congressman sending their kids to public, open schools? Of course not. This CV-19 situation raises the question: Why are we spending billions on schools? Why can't kids just learn at home with a computer? why can't colleges fire their professors and have kids learn on the computer?

Freder Frederson said...

If Trump has time to get involved with when the Big 10 starts it's football season, surely he can tweet out to his son's school and insist they have in person classes.

rcocean said...

BTW Kristof has been hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. He checks in with his I-pad and types out a column. How informed is he of current events?

wendybar said...

It is up to the officials in the state whether or not to open schools. Trump would like to see them open. So would millions of other people. Trying to pin blame on people who want the craziness to end, is the only way the Progressives have left to sway people.

Quaestor said...

They're "instinctively wary" — that is, they have an emotional reaction to Trump that keeps them from thinking straight.

Good, but slightly askew. The disordered thinking of the Democrats explains their emotional reactions to Trump rather than causing it. Evidence: the DNC determined beforehand to coronate Hillary Clinton months before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination. They've been trending toward the stupid side of the curve for decades, however, since 2015 the slide has been precipitous.

Fernandinande said...

A student printed a life-size picture of himself and decorated it with a t-shirt, hat, and headphones in an attempt to skip video conference classes.

h/t D. Barry.

Static Ping said...

I'm not sure on the effectiveness of arguing with a tautology, but I suspect it is quite low.

It would be interesting to come up with some "solutions" to this "problem." Perhaps we could go full Reagan, fire all the teachers, and replace them with the National Guard. In many cases this would be an improvement. The main drawback is that this would probably attract the Antifa goons to try to burn the schools down.

Yancey Ward said...

Trump should probably put out a statement that suicide is a bad idea.

mikee said...

Science says in another year the Dems are gonna look pretty bad over COVID. They better grab all the power they can before that happens. Newsome and Cuomo should be on lamp posts.

tommyesq said...

"I fear that Trump’s hyperbolic embrace of reopening schools has led Democrats to be instinctively wary."

Shorter version - Dems cannot think for themselves.

Freeman Hunt said...

I think public schools should be open, but my kids don't use them, and , if they did, we would be using the virtual option. Why would that position be surprising at all? It's a recognition that different people are in need of different options.

Achilles said...

Somehow it is Trump's fault the Democrat Teachers union is shutting down public schools, even though he is pushing to open them up.

Out of everything the Democrats have done shutting down the public schools was their biggest mistake.

There are some very angry people over this.

Achilles said...

Freder Frederson said...

If Trump has time to get involved with when the Big 10 starts it's football season, surely he can tweet out to his son's school and insist they have in person classes.

There is Freder showing everyone how stupid the average democrat sheep is.

Thank you for what you do.

Drago said...

Field Marshall and Bundy and McCloskey Case Liar Freder: "If Trump has time to get involved with when the Big 10 starts it's football season, surely he can tweet out to his son's school and insist they have in person classes."

If obama had time to fill out March Madness brackets on ESPN why didn't he also fill out brackets for State high school championships?

Wince said...

"I fear that Trump’s hyperbolic embrace of reopening schools has led Democrats to be instinctively wary."

Wary? How about "deranged"?

Mr Wibble said...

The disordered thinking of the Democrats explains their emotional reactions to Trump rather than causing it. Evidence: the DNC determined beforehand to coronate Hillary Clinton months before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination. They've been trending toward the stupid side of the curve for decades, however, since 2015 the slide has been precipitous.

The Dems can be divided into two groups: the "academics" and the "pragmatics." The academics are people who believe in the theory of progressivism, who view their entire world through the lens of inequality. The pragmatics are generally blue-collar conservative people who vote dem because there are certain policies which they like. The ivy-league educated lawyer working at a non-profit for gay rights is an academic. His brother in law who works as a union welder is a pragmatic.

The thing is, the academics often dislike, or even despise, the pragmatics. Bill Clinton was a pragmatic, or at least he aligned with them for political purposes. Obama, in contrast, is an academic. Obama's victory convinced the academics that they'd figured out the secret recipe for electoral success without needed the pragmatics who made up much of the Dem rank and file for generations. When Trump was elected it was evidence that they were mistaken, but their egos won't allow them to admit it.

R C Belaire said...

For your consideration : Let's assume that for every high school subject one "best" teacher could be selected country-wide, and each student studying that subject would access his/her lectures. Why would any student wish to learn from a 2nd rate instructor when virtual classes may be the future? Think of the savings!

PubliusFlavius said...

Aye

All of my clients are being forced in to remote 'learning', there is no choice.

I think we may tolerate this inane tripe till the election, then if Trump trouncing the competition doesn't make it end, there will be significant civil disobedience.

Original Mike said...

"While President Trump has insisted that schools physically reopen, the private school his son Barron is attending is sticking with remote learning. Yes, that feels like a double standard...."

Is Kristof incapable of simple logic or does he simply not care?

hombre said...

My granddaughters “attend” schools in the top school district in the community, maybe the state. Their take on this is that remote learning is as likely to be a miss as a hit. Some of the teachers just don’t get it yet my taxes and their salaries remain the same.

Democrats are incompetent on so many levels.

Freder Frederson said...

If obama had time to fill out March Madness brackets on ESPN why didn't he also fill out brackets for State high school championships?

How do you know he didn't? At least for whatever athletic organization Sidwell Friends (the Fighting Quakers) is in.

Joe Smith said...

@Althouse

"but you're stuck with what they're deciding to do..."

tim d said...

"It's the less affluent children who suffer the most with the schools closed."

They suffer the most with schools open, schools closed, good economy, bad economy, you name it. It's kind of the definition of "less affluent."


*Women and Poor Hardest Hit*

Cliché? Tautology? Both?

Kevin said...

So... Kristof agrees with Trump! But he still must complain about Trump

This is Joe Biden's ENTIRE campaign strategy!

By next week the media will have us believe it's TRUMP agreeing with BIDEN!

Readering said...

"Emotiotionally reacts in a way that keeps him from thinking straight" would be a kind way to describe our president.

Drago said...

Field Marshall and Bundy and McCloskey Case Liar Freder: "How do you know he didn't?"

Ah, back to the russian collusion methodology.

As expected.

mbd said...

A little context. Montgomery County MD - where St. Andrew's is located - has chosen in the face of teacher union pressure to go with distance learning in its public school system.

In theory, private schools would be evaluated on a case by case basis. Some - including St. Andrews - have the space and the organizational capacity to manage fully in person teaching or, more likely, a hybrid model. However, Montgomery County's health director - over the objections of Maryland's governor - has decreed that it's impossible for any private school to open safely. The assumption is that he's carrying water for the unions.

MadisonMan said...

Is Kristof incapable of simple logic or does he simply not care?
Yes. To Both.

Birkel said...

Any comments on Washington, DC's mayor proposing the removal of the Lincoln/Jefferson/Washington monuments?

Freeman Hunt?

Skeptical Voter said...

There's a piece on the op ed page of todays WSJ. It's written by a rising eighth grade girl who goes to Boston Latin School. Her school is closed for a few more weeks. Her twin sibling and a brother go to other local schools and they are now in school. She feels left out and is missing her class mates. There are probably more than half a million individual public and private school campuses in the country. According to Kristof and other ankle biters in the press, Trump is responsible for the decision to open or not for each of those half million locations. Give me a break!

Jersey Fled said...

Almost half of Philadelphia public school teachers send their kids to private schools.

bagoh20 said...

A double standard is going to the salon to have your hair done, when anybody else would be arrested and the shop lose it's license as you your self demand. Let's also notice that 80 year-old Pelosi is in the most vulnerable group and did not wear a mask. Not just a double standard, but essentially assuming a royalty position, and even that power over the virus itself. A truely remarkable woman.

stlcdr said...

Blogger MadisonMan said...
Is Kristof incapable of simple logic or does he simply not care?
Yes. To Both.

9/3/20, 10:55 AM


It is only about politics - the Dems do not care about people. They are lying when they say so.

NYC JournoList said...

Roughly one-third of the students at my child’s lower Manhattan elementary school opted for in-person-hybrid. Two thirds are full-remote. Principal told parents on Monday that more kids are opting to full-remote daily, making teacher assignment a challenge.

veni vidi vici said...

"Kristof agrees with Trump! But he still must complain about Trump...."

Why Kristof is a hack, in eleven words.

bagoh20 said...

Remember a few months ago when there seemed to be nothing else in the world but Covid-19? It completely dominated the news, blogs, commercials, just everything. The numbers show it's still very much with us, and in many cases the peak numbers are recent. Of course the numbers were always bullshit, but they haven't suddenly gone away. Still, nobody much cares anymore except Democrat politicians who constantly violate their own very serious rules that save lives, thousands of lives. The only part of Covid that's still with us in any real way is the tyranny. The most damaging of all the symptoms, and the symptom that effects everyone regardless of test result. We have a cure for that. It's called a fair election, but like the other treatments, the Democrats are against it.

narciso said...

paging stephen hatfill to the red courtesy phone,

Freder Frederson said...

Of course the numbers were always bullshit, but they haven't suddenly gone away.

What is bullshit about the numbers? Excess deaths in this country are about 200,000 since March. If not Covid, how do you explain this anomaly?

Ah, back to the russian collusion methodology.

Sheesh, you are dense! I responded to your totally irrelevant comment (Obama filled out a March Madness bracket! Oh the humanity!) by pointing out that he probably did care about what was going on at his daughters' school.

narciso said...

Governor hogan, opened up the schools, so what's their beef.

Christy said...

Knox County is going with the hybrid approach. Sister, a not-so-retired high school math teacher, has one in person class and one remote. She is finding that kids sign into their computers and then go off to do their own thing, as evidenced by the frequent non-response when she calls on them. BTW over a thousand teachers here, including many otherwise healthy under 40 years old, have chosen to take a year's leave of absence.

And another thing, a very hard-working nephew with learning problems just told me he withdrew from his community college program because the distance learning is not for him. He has managed to get through two other med tech programs, but the remote learning has defeated the approaches he'd learned/developed to succeed in the classroom.

Dude1394 said...

Like all good marxist democrats, Kristof thinks trump should just mandate the schools opening. He and Biden would.

Mary Beth said...

The learning gap that school systems pretend to care about in normal years will only widen this year. Learning from home will work fine for lots of kids. Maybe even better than in-school classes for some of them. The parents with resources of time and/or money will make sure the learning gets done.

There are other kids with poor internet access, lack of an individual computer, and lack of space and quiet time for lessons that will suffer from this. If any of these kids are also the same ones whose parents never showed for the parent/teacher conferences, either from lack of time or lack of caring, the schools just lost their one chance to make a difference in the lives of those children.

Does it matter how much harder it will be for teachers and schools to spot signs of neglect or abuse when they don't physically meet with their students? I quit reading articles (my friends would share on FB) about teachers wanting to keep schools shut down a couple of months ago because none of them even acknowledged these potential problems.

Narayanan said...

mbd said...
A little context. Montgomery County MD - where St. Andrew's is located - has chosen in the face of teacher union pressure to go with distance learning in its public school system.
----------===========
is that correct usage - to me >>> in the face of =/= agreeing to go with

alan markus said...

Here is a blast from the past (2014)

See The Difference Between Your Kids’ School Lunch Menu Vs The First Daughters’ Lunch Menu

JAORE said...

Trump is right [the bastard!].
Trump is wrong [the bastard].

It's the "clown nose on, clown nose off" scenario on steroids.

Trump wants dictatorial powers! He must be stopped! [Dictator mask off.]

Why doesn't Trump stop the rioting? Why doesn't Trump open the schools? [Dictator mask on.]

Drago said...

Field Marshall and Bundy and McCloskey Case Liar Freder: "Sheesh, you are dense! I responded to your totally irrelevant comment (Obama filled out a March Madness bracket! Oh the humanity!) by pointing out that he probably did care about what was going on at his daughters' school."

You responded by "pointing out" that obama "probably did care" about something.

Powerful.

LOL

bagoh20 said...

"What is bullshit about the numbers? Excess deaths in this country are about 200,000 since March. If not Covid, how do you explain this anomaly?"

First of all "excess deaths" is a magical number difficult to explain, and pretty meaning less in real analysis. It's a guess, that can only be used as back up for other dataI, but let's accept it. I explain that increase because millions of Americans stopped going to their doctor, stopped going to the hospital for anything but Covid, so stopped getting life saving diagnosis and treatments. Hospitals and doctors either save lives on a daily basis or they don't . If you think they do, then what is the effect of them not being used for months by millions of Americans, many with serious illness who now saw no treatment?

The CDC itself says that Covid was the certain cause of death in only 6% of those deaths listed as Covid deaths.

For a guy I suspect imagines himself to be an independent thinker, you sure do suck up the bureaucratic bullshit without much skepticism.

DavidUW said...

They're (Democrats) stupid, and emotional. Fixed that.

DEEBEE said...

HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE bwaaaa

TRISTRAM said...

What you want and think should be done is often different than what happens (mostly factual observation).

What you want and think should be done is VERY different than what others should be compelled to do (a form of libertarianism).

Nearly all parents think schools are doing it wrong, for some definition of wrong. No hypocrisy or contradiction here at all.

mbd said...

Narayanan said...

mbd said...
A little context. Montgomery County MD - where St. Andrew's is located - has chosen in the face of teacher union pressure to go with distance learning in its public school system.
----------===========
is that correct usage - to me >>> in the face of =/= agreeing to go with

As much as I dislike admitting error (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkqgDoo_eZE), you're right.