Neighbors with young children are coming together to create “pods” to help ensure that their children have peers to interact with, while also allowing parents time to work, Axios reports.
The Washington Post notes that some families have pooled their money and hired teachers or private tutors for their children, who can teach them at home during the week, or a babysitter or nanny shared between multiple families with very young children.
“I think parents have been doing some version of this pod thing with young children anyway, but not on this kind of scale and not for this reason,” said Steve Barnett, senior co-director of the National Institute for Early Education Research.
However, he noted that “This is not an option open to everybody. Home environments are less equal than school environments. If what this does is let school districts off the hook either from reopening or doing a good job with distance learning, then that’s going to lead to more inequality.”
According to McKinsey analysis, most students will fall behind about 6.8 months, on average, without in-class instruction. Among Black students, the average is 10.3 months, and for Hispanic students the average is 9.2 months. The average for students of any race from low-income homes is 12.4 months.
“This is one of the kind of innovative ideas that should be on the table," said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, adding that public school districts should receive additional funding to help make sure all students can take part. “The pod and small group learning ideas are good ideas, but we have to ensure that they're actually equitable."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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