A Fox News host went viral this week after he debated a sixth-grader who complimented President Joe Biden.
Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade invited three children to be on a panel to talk about their experiences doing online learning during the coronavirus pandemic. Mason Seder, a sixth-grader from Philadelphia said that he thinks the president is “handling things is a very good way and we would not have gone to this if it were still the last president.”
56-year-old Kilmeade replied, “Really? That’s hard to believe because the last president was saying, ‘I want every kid back in school.’”
The sixth-grader told the host that he’s been learning “some things” and that he thinks “teachers are doing a great job,” but that the experience was “not what it could be if we were in person.”
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The television host then told the boy and the other two students that they should “blame” politicians and unions for why they aren’t in school.
The segment started with an introduction where Kilmeade said that kids are “stuck learning on Zoom,” and “begging to get back in the classroom.”
President Biden has said that he expects regular in-person school to be possible by fall.
As of May 3, 2021, the COVID-19 virus has taken the lives of at least 933 active and retired K-12 educators and personnel, according to Education Week. At least 265 of those were active teachers. The site has created an online memorial of educators who died of the virus during the pandemic.
The students shared that what they miss most about being in school was seeing their friends and doing extracurricular activities.
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Close to 90% of schools are offering some in-person classes, and more than half are open in-person full time. However, Lynn Woodworth, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics issued a statement this week saying, “We are seeing higher percentages of students enrolled in full-time, in-person learning, though there are still gaps. Most Black, Hispanic, and Asian students are still not attending school in-person at all.”
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