Nikki Haley on school mask mandates, Russia-Ukraine conflict
Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley reacts to a New York judge striking down the governor's indoor mask mandate and discusses Biden's foreign policy 'weakness' on 'America Reports.'
Every American should be worried about the COVID Generation. Over the past two years, our country’s children have lost a huge part of their education – and they’re now at risk of losing their futures.
Rescuing these kids is urgently important, for their sake and our nation’s. Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders, and if they aren’t prepared, America itself won’t be able to lead.
What’s happening to kids breaks my heart. Even before the pandemic, they were struggling to find the best shot at the best life. Pre-COVID, two-thirds of America’s elementary and middle-school students weren’t proficient in reading. Nearly the same number weren’t proficient at math. Yet instead of helping kids get ahead, the past two years pushed them further behind.
School lockdowns and virtual learning have been a total disaster. It’s now clear that school lockdowns had nearly zero effect on saving lives, but they did dramatic damage to student’s lives. Almost 100% of teachers reported seeing their students fail to learn during the pandemic, and sure enough, the typical K-12 student is now four months behind in reading and five months behind in math.
Black and Brown students suffered even more – they lost half a year. Low-income income students lost even more than that. These are the kinds of kids I grew up with in rural South Carolina. Their futures depend on a great education they’re just not getting.
Even one lost day of learning is unacceptable. Six months is unthinkable. You can’t afford to be six months behind when you’re a sixth grader learning algebra. You can’t afford it when you’re in 12th grade preparing to go to college or get a job. And if you spent half of first grade missing out, you’re going to spend the rest of your life trying to catch up.
As a mother, it pains me to think about the future these kids are facing. The mental health issues, the lack of social skills, the lessons that were never learned – the COVID Generation is in for a rough ride.
We’re failing to prepare the citizens who will soon be called on to defend our freedom and lead the world.
You think we have a labor crisis now? Imagine how much worse things will get when these students graduate and try to get jobs. Millions won’t have the training and skills they need. The typical student could already make $61,000 less in life because of how they were taught – or rather, not taught – during the pandemic.
And we aren’t even done with this crisis. Our students deserve the best life possible, not a life of missed opportunities and unmet potential.
Not only that: if this crisis continues, do you think America can compete with the world? We closed schools and hurt kids far more than many other countries. Our economy will suffer for years if something doesn’t change fast. So will our national security.
We’re failing to prepare the citizens who will soon be called on to defend our freedom and lead the world. America is in a life-or-death struggle with countries like Communist China. How we raise the next generation of Americans will determine whether we win.
Saving the COVID generation is a moral necessity. Yet at the exact moment our country’s children need help, in so many cases, they’re being hurt even more.
Today’s Democratic Party is joined at the hip with teachers’ unions. These are the same unions that fought to keep schools closed for months on end and are now shutting down schools once again from coast to coast. Apparently they’re more concerned with suspending students who don’t wear masks than teaching students to read, write and rise.
What’s worse, Democrats and their activist allies are pushing dangerous concepts like critical race theory on students. They’re telling a 5-year-old White girl she’s racist, and if she’s Black or Brown, they’re telling her she’s a helpless victim who will never be good enough. Such low expectations are just high-minded bigotry. We should help students unlock their unique potential, not lump them into groups based on race and gender. We should enable every student to lift themselves up, not tear them down.
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Our country’s children deserve better. Parents are demanding better. And Republicans are ready to deliver better. We stand for educating kids, full stop.
That’s why Republican governors and state lawmakers are passing real school choice that gives every family the freedom to pick the best education for their kids. And we stand for teaching kids what they need to succeed – and what America needs to survive and thrive.
Students should learn to love our country, not loathe it, which is why GOP-led states are stopping critical race theory in its tracks. Students should see that while our nation isn’t perfect, they’re still blessed to live in America, and they have a role in making our union more perfect.
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The past two years made clear that education needs a transformation from top to bottom. It’s failing the people who are our future, when it should be helping them claim that future.
We can’t let the COVID generation become the lost generation. They’re counting on us. And we, as a country, are counting on them.
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