This next story is a stark reminder that the impacts of school closures and Covid-mitigation efforts have been harshest on those who don’t live the life of the laptop class.

So next time someone virtue-signals about how their concerns around Covid are out of “kindness” or that they “care more about grandma” than you do, you can simply remind them of Hien Sosa’s story…

Hien’s Story:

“When Covid was the only headline of every news channel around the world, I and my family were nervous.

Having a newborn and a kindergartener at the time, it made sense to me to close school in March 2020. However it was challenging to finish the rest of the school year remotely with my kindergartener. But it was fine because everybody did the same thing. We were on the same page.

Then me and my husband both caught covid. We were both essential workers. I am a registered nurse. He works for the transit department. It was not pleasant. But we got over it. The kids were in the same small apartment with us. Both have no symptoms. They turned out to have immunity to it from us when testing their blood later. They were fine the whole time.

Then September came, school remained the biggest question mark.

There are many sides of the issue. However one clear answer is that Catholic schools just one block away from us opened school all five days a week with live teachers. My now first grader only went to school two or three times a week depending on his group.

Every remote day was a disaster for him. My husband and I have to work our regular schedule. We didn’t have the luxury of working from home. Fortunately my mom helped babysit my first grader and his sister. His sister was 9 months at the time. With limited English and computer skill, there was only so much she could do.

When the connection was lost and he couldn’t join the online meeting, that was it. He lost a remote day simply by technology issues. How could a first grader learn to read and write on the ipad? With Google classroom and live meetings, a young child could not focus and learn through an ipad. It was not school. Remote instruction was not school.

Seeing my son struggling and knowing that his neighbor who enrolled in private school got to go to school five days a week was an eye opener for me.

What disappointed me the most was how hard the teacher union fought to close public school. Everywhere was safe, except ‘public’ schools. Working in a covid unit the whole time, I understand the fear of the public. What did not make sense to me was that the teacher union kept using our children as a tool to get their benefits, Our children were their political pawns. The health and the well being of children were not their priority. The city basically has two parts: one for the rich and parochial and one for those who attend public schools.

I was looking everywhere for same- mind parents to advocate for our kids. Fortunately there are many outspoken parents with the same goal: OPEN SCHOOL.

Since then, I have shown up at every ‘open school’ rally. I gave out flyers to other parents who advocate for the same purpose.

Schools are open now with almost back to normal operation. However there are still many restrictions that keep our kids from living their normal lives in school. There are still restrictions that prevent parents from participating in our kids’s activities.

I will continue to advocate for our children so they will grow up in a free environment with no restrictions.”

About the Author:

“My name is Hien Sosa. I am a registered nurse from Queens, NYC. I am a mother of 2 with 1 in DOE elementary school. I believe kids belong in school and schools have to be the first to be opened and last to be closed. Throughout the last 2 years, I see the difference in school opening policy across the nation, across different neighborhoods and even different school systems such as public and private. Those differences didn’t serve in the best interest of our children and that leads me to becoming an open school advocate.”

Our Take:

Thank you, Hien, for sharing your story with us. You are a hero.

You lay out clearly and honestly just how harmful and anti-child these school policies have been.

You also completely expose who really has been hurt most by these narrow-minded policies — and it’s certainly not the laptop class.

What’s Next:

A) Follow Hien on Twitter at @HienS99207805

B) If you would like to tell your own story through our Substack — anonymous or not then — please reach out to us at restorechildhood@substack.com or @Rstorechildhood on Twitter and we’ll do what we can to make that happen.

and

C) Share Hien’s story with the heroes in your life who are also fighting back:

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"My Advocacy" (story from another mother)