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Political leaders wanted kids back in school so parents would be able to go back to work. At the same time, the media starts talking about how bad homeschoolin

Political leaders wanted kids back in school so parents would be able to go back to work. At the same time, the media starts talking about how bad homeschooling and lockdowns are for kids mental health and suicide rates. Consent is always manufactured.

geoduck14 5y ago
>Political leaders wanted I feel the need to intervene here. The only thing political leaders want... is to get reelected. That is there job. To get reelected. Sure, in certain cases, a politician has kids and wants their kids back in school. But in this example the line should go: Political leaders had constituents that wanted kids back in school, so the leaders worked to make that happen.
- DocTomoe 5y ago
  I used to believe the same things, that politicians followed the general will of their potential voters. I don't anymore, and reading some Chomsky made me understand how the system works. "Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media" is suggested reading, with the caveat that it opens the readers eyes to a harrowing reality and that what has been seen cannot be unseen.
  - tehjoker 5y ago
    Agreed, once you read that book (or watch the documentary [0]) it sets you down a new path of understanding. However, you will feel alternatively annoyed or horrified every day of the rest of your life. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuwmWnphqII https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuwmWnphqII
    - rhizome 5y ago
      It's good, but there has to be a better introduction than a 3hr documentary.
- tedivm 5y ago
  That's an ideal world, but we don't live in an ideal world. Politicians do things not just to get reelected, but also to build their own wealth and power. To say that they only care about being reelected is a gross and inaccurate simplification.
- croes 5y ago
  Political leaders want money and power that's why they want to be reelected.
Thlom 5y ago
When kids can’t socialize normally with their peers that is negative for them, even if kids themselves might be happy with “homeschooling” and socializing with their friends in Minecraft. We have been spared most lockdown measures, but had a couple of weeks with closed schools and day care. It was fine, but my kids were absolutely better of once schools and day care opened again.
- ipaddr 5y ago
  I'm not following why if kids are happy homeschooling and socializing on popular video games is a negative? If your kids experienced only a month of lockdowns returning to normal would make them absolutely better. What if you were locked down for the entire year or two? After your kids get use to it they might respond differently.
  - logifail 5y ago
    > I'm not following why if kids are happy homeschooling and socializing on popular video games is a negative? Many kids, including our three, would be perfectly happy if they didn't have to do any schoolwork ever again. During the worst lockdown period here our middle child got 45 mins "online" with his teacher each day, and apart from that, he was on his own. Two working parents, with two (allegedly) full-time jobs. As the saying goes, "do the math"... Far too much TV was watched. Far too much youtube too. Far too much Minecraft was played. For the kids this was Just Fine(!) For us parents, not so much.
- brimble 5y ago
  By the time kids are old enough that suicide starts to become a serious risk (6th grade and up, mostly) I'd need to see some serious data to convince me that socializing at school isn't net-harmful. In fact I'm surprised rates might have dropped, because kids were still able to socialize over the Internet. But, possibly, that gave them more ability to avoid the worst of it, and that was enough to make a difference. It's really, really hard for kids to avoid a handful of super-toxic students in their class, when in person. Your options are much more limited than an adult's are under similar circumstances.

geoduck14 5y ago

>Political leaders wanted I feel the need to intervene here. The only thing political leaders want... is to get reelected. That is there job. To get reelected. Sure, in certain cases, a politician has kids and wants their kids back in school. But in this example the line should go: Political leaders had constituents that wanted kids back in school, so the leaders worked to make that happen.

DocTomoe 5y ago
I used to believe the same things, that politicians followed the general will of their potential voters. I don't anymore, and reading some Chomsky made me understand how the system works. "Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media" is suggested reading, with the caveat that it opens the readers eyes to a harrowing reality and that what has been seen cannot be unseen.
- tehjoker 5y ago
  Agreed, once you read that book (or watch the documentary [0]) it sets you down a new path of understanding. However, you will feel alternatively annoyed or horrified every day of the rest of your life. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuwmWnphqII https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuwmWnphqII
  - rhizome 5y ago
    It's good, but there has to be a better introduction than a 3hr documentary.
tedivm 5y ago
That's an ideal world, but we don't live in an ideal world. Politicians do things not just to get reelected, but also to build their own wealth and power. To say that they only care about being reelected is a gross and inaccurate simplification.
croes 5y ago
Political leaders want money and power that's why they want to be reelected.

Thlom 5y ago

When kids can’t socialize normally with their peers that is negative for them, even if kids themselves might be happy with “homeschooling” and socializing with their friends in Minecraft. We have been spared most lockdown measures, but had a couple of weeks with closed schools and day care. It was fine, but my kids were absolutely better of once schools and day care opened again.

ipaddr 5y ago
I'm not following why if kids are happy homeschooling and socializing on popular video games is a negative? If your kids experienced only a month of lockdowns returning to normal would make them absolutely better. What if you were locked down for the entire year or two? After your kids get use to it they might respond differently.
- logifail 5y ago
  > I'm not following why if kids are happy homeschooling and socializing on popular video games is a negative? Many kids, including our three, would be perfectly happy if they didn't have to do any schoolwork ever again. During the worst lockdown period here our middle child got 45 mins "online" with his teacher each day, and apart from that, he was on his own. Two working parents, with two (allegedly) full-time jobs. As the saying goes, "do the math"... Far too much TV was watched. Far too much youtube too. Far too much Minecraft was played. For the kids this was Just Fine(!) For us parents, not so much.
brimble 5y ago
By the time kids are old enough that suicide starts to become a serious risk (6th grade and up, mostly) I'd need to see some serious data to convince me that socializing at school isn't net-harmful. In fact I'm surprised rates might have dropped, because kids were still able to socialize over the Internet. But, possibly, that gave them more ability to avoid the worst of it, and that was enough to make a difference. It's really, really hard for kids to avoid a handful of super-toxic students in their class, when in person. Your options are much more limited than an adult's are under similar circumstances.