Kerby Anderson

Stacey Lance has been a teacher in the Canadian public school system for the past 15 years. Her recent essay laments that “the kids aren’t alright.” She begins by saying that she isn’t a doctor or expert in virology. But she does know her students, and she is very sad about what they have experienced these last two years. Of course, there is the students’ loss of learning and their mental issues. But what is overlooked, she says, “has been the deep shame young people feel: Our students were taught to think of their schools as hubs for infection and themselves as vectors of disease.” Initially, her school went fully remote and there was the inevitable loss of human connection so important to her students’ development. But even when they were back in school, there was no life in the building. “Maybe it was the masks that made it so no one wanted to engage in lessons, or even talk about how they spent their weekend.” The students she teaches are anxious and depressed. Even the outgoing students “are now terrified at the prospect of being singled out to stand in front of the class and speak. And many of my students seem to have found comfort behind their masks. They feel exposed when their peers can see their whole face.” Her heartbreaking description of what the lockdowns have done to her students goes on for pages. In fact, columnist Kyle Smith cites large sections of her essay but alters one important fact. Stacey Lance says, “We betrayed our children.” Kyle Smith changes the verb tense: “We are betraying our children every day, all across this country. To be blunt, we are abusing our children, on a mass scale.” This essay is a poignant reminder of the damage done and the damage being done to the next generation.