Not a straw man. Anyone who has ever spent more than 2 minutes with any normal, human child would know that they aren't always the most obedient. Also, they don't just follow rules. Sure, sometimes they do, but many times they do not.
Sorry but I’ve had two children and have worked with schools and teachers.
Oh, sorry. I didn't realize you had such impeccable credentials.
I have two children also. I also have worked with children in many capacities. So I guess that puts us on equal footing.
It’s common for children to be better managed (mannered) in a reasonably well run elementary school than at home.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Your utopian picture of a school where children just sit quietly with their hands folded in their laps and masks on their faces all day listening intently to every word the teachers say is pure fantasy. There are ups and downs all throughout the day. Sometimes students are well-behaved and listen. Other times, not so much.
They wear masks when everyone else does.
Right. And they touch those masks and fidget with them all the livelong day just like everyone else too.
Just like every other school setting, some children are more challenging.
To say the least...
If you want to keep schools shut down, that’s your opinion. I don’t think it’s necessary.
Where on earth did you get that from? I thought schools should have been open at full capacity over a year ago. The educational damages we are inflicting on our children is immense and will have a lasting impact. There are countless private and parochial schools that have been open throughout the entire pandemic without any social distancing and without any masking. I don't know why we all have to pretend like that's not true.
The reality is, if you came from a wealthy family where your parents could afford to send you to a private school, you probably didn't miss that much school, if any. But if your family couldn't afford that, you've been stuck at home, isolated from social interactions and "learning" over a Zoom meeting for over a year. Those kids are being unfairly disadvantaged simply because their parents can't afford to send them to a school that stayed open.
The same holds true for lockdowns. I am fortunate that my job permits me to work from home. I'm part of the "laptop-class" that was able to keep my job and continue working from home without missing a beat. But others weren't so fortunate. Deemed "essential", we sent the working class people into the world to continue their jobs as usual. People working at Walmart, grocery stores, fast-food chains had to keep working throughout so-called "lockdowns" so that those of us in the laptop-class could be "safer at home". But not the working class. They couldn't stay home. So we sacrificed the less fortunate on the altar of lockdowns, and then scratch our heads wondering why poorer people were hit harder by the pandemic.