Wisconsin Congressman Gallagher: Don’t close schools again

(The Center Square) – One of Wisconsin’s congressmen says adults in the state cannot close schools again.

Congressman Mike Gallagher from Green Bay says it was the “biggest blunder” during the first year of the pandemic to lock kids out of their schools.

“I’m sorry but remote learning is not a substitute for being in the classroom, especially for young kids. Remote learning is a euphemism for school shutdowns and that is a recipe for student failure,” Gallagher said in a video he released Monday.

Gallagher says the loss of learning did real harm to kids across Wisconsin. He said that’s undeniable.

“Sitting in front of a screen all day is not learning. Milwaukee Public Schools is shutting down schools. Same with Madison,” Gallagher added, as both districts started 2022 with fully remote learning.

Gallagher said adults need to stop “injecting fear” into kids’ classrooms.

“Can we at a minimum agree on the fact that schools must stay open?” Gallagher asked during his video. “We can’t live in fear, or allow this fear to mess up our kids. At this point in the pandemic, we should be trying as hard as we can to teach our kids courage, not fear. They’ve learned fear for the past two years. Courage is confronting the problem, not running away.”

He says the data show the omicron variant is much more transmissible, but far less dangerous than the earlier strains of the coronavirus, particularly among school-aged kids.

Both Milwaukee and Madison schools returned to virtual learning this week because of spiking coronavirus case numbers. Both schools say “the plan” is to return to in-person classes next week.

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