It's an ill-conceived war that they're bound to lose.

I have commented a number of times about the effect that school closures might have on American education practices.  My primary supposition has been that as parents have to get more involved in educating their children, they are going to be surprised at how little education has been occurring and how much the education is counter-productive bunk.  

Its a hypothesis and I have little but anecdotal evidence to support it yet.  

I think I also commented to the effect that Covid-19 would be a great revealer.  In terms of education, not only revealing how little education has been occurring but also how wrong have been some of the lessons, muddied as they are by critical theory nonsense.   But the biggest reveal will have been the clear evidence that education institutions exist to benefit teachers and administrators rather than parents and children.  There will be much more jaundice and skepticism than in the past.  

This fall was one element in that reveal.  Despite children being virtually immune to any health consequences of Covid-19 and despite the overwhelming value to society to increase herd immunity, many jurisdictions chose to either continue with online learning or having extremely limited school access.  If you want to follow the science, most blue city/state jurisdictions chose not to.  

And their concern for social equity has also been revealed to be tissue thin.  It was easily anticipated, much discussed and the evidence is now rolling in - school lockdowns are hard on the middle and upper class but their children seem to be weathering the educational storm owing to the effort of their parents.  In contrast the poor are seeing their children fall further and further behind.  

When government has to choose between teacher unions as a constituency and the well-being of the poorest and most vulnerable children, it is no contest.  Sorry children.  Rich political allies come first.

From Bureaucrats Declare War on Learning Pods. They'll Lose. by J.D. Tuccile.  I think Tuccile overclaims and many of the temporary changes will revert.  Homeschooling has risen from 5% of students to 10%.  A big increase but normal public education is a pretty compelling value proposition for two income families.  Perhaps after a year or two, there will be some permanent increase, but I think most will return.  Maybe homeschooling increases from 5% to 7%.

But the return will be of a much more distrustful customer base.  They now know how low quality much of the teaching has been, even dangerous and they now know that the game is entirely rigged for the benefit of the establishment interests and not the citizens.

A selection from the article:

As already unimpressive government schools fail the test put to them by the pandemic, families have turned to alternatives old and new to see that their children are educated. Among the popular responses have been learning pods of cooperating families, either to facilitate and enhance the online offerings of public-school systems or else to replace them as stand-alone education environments.

School bureaucrats have responded not by stepping-up their efforts, but by first begging people not to leave, and then lashing out against the competition. It's an ill-conceived war that they're bound to lose.

With schools struggling to deal with social-distancing for in-person teaching and to offer effective virtual lessons, "parents are increasingly turning to microschools — very small schools that usually have a specific culture — and learning pods," The New York Times noted last month. "Microschools can be based outside or inside a home, and may or may not be state-approved and accredited. Learning pods are generally ad hoc and home-based, most having been created this summer in response to public school closings."

Experimentation with such alternatives has been given impetus by government schools' widespread inability to master online learning even as teachers unions resist efforts to return kids to physical classrooms. Just this week, the union representing public teachers in Washington, D.C. added to families' uncertainties by torpedoing the district's plans for reopening schools.

Amidst this chaos, the exodus has been impressive. In their stand-alone form, learning pods are essentially rebranded homeschooling co-ops, with participants counted as homeschoolers. According to a Gallup survey, after years of steady growth, the ranks of homeschoolers doubled this year from 5 percent of all students to 10 percent; traditional public schools saw a drop in enrollment from 83 percent of all students to 76 percent. The numbers don't reflect students still enrolled in public schools but working with other kids in learning pods that make up for the failings of the tax-funded institutions.