To the editor:
According to news reports, for much of the past year, about half of all public schools have been, or now are, closed. Many of the others are only partly open, offering in-person classes only two or three days a week. The reason given is concerns about COVID. From the students I have talked to, online learning, for most students, is very ineffective compared to in-class instruction. This includes college students, who often spend their days in their dorms watching computer zoom classes. Many observers feel this has put most students behind for at least a year, and many will never catch up.