Why Are We Turning Our Backs on Remote Learning?

Remote learning has moved to the top of the school agenda with a vengeance since March of last year. Without it, tens of millions of American students would have been without formal instruction during the pandemic. It’s a big topic moving forward as we think about what schools will look like come September.

A few policymakers are big fans. Take, for example, Eric Adams, one of the front-runners in the race to become New York City’s newest mayor. This February, the former policeman opined at a meeting of the Citizens Budget Commission, “If you do a full-year school year by using the new technology of remote learning, you don’t need children to be in a school building with a number of teachers. It’s just the opposite. You could have one great teacher that’s in one of our specialized high schools to teach three to 400 students.”