The State Government Leadership Foundation (SGLF) and N2 America have consistently been highlighting the disadvantages faced by children who have been kept out of the classroom under the guise of the pandemic, and when in the classroom, are required to be fully masked. A new ad was released on Thursday to do with such a campaign, "Childhood." It is the third of their six-figure "Let Kids Learn" ad campaign.
Democrats are putting kids last. Teachers’ unions are putting kids last.
— State Government Leadership Foundation (SGLF) (@theSGLF) February 3, 2022
Tell them to give kids their childhood back.
WATCH: our new TV ad we are launching today with @N2_America. #LetKidsLearn pic.twitter.com/N2AZKcKI0V
The thirty second ad features glimpses of children watching as sports fans and celebrities celebrate on television without masks, while they are subject to masks, temperature checks, and social distancing from their peers. And that's even when they are in the classroom. Another child in the ad is subject to remote learning.
"They see the excitement. They see the joy. They see what they are missing. Democrats are putting kids last. Teachers’ unions are putting kids last. Tell them to give kids their childhood back. #LetKidsLearn," read the accompanying text on the screen.
A press release from SGLF links to coverage from the Wall Street Journal and a study from the U.S. Surgeon General stressing the importance of students needing in-person instruction in order to thrive.
SGLF Executive Director Dee Duncan touched upon the "absolutely heartbreaking" effect that the response from Democrats and teachers unions are having on students.
"There is one common theme in states where students are suffering the most academic and emotional harm right now — the failure of liberal leaders to stand up the teachers’ unions and fight for the well-being of our kids," Duncan said. "It is absolutely heartbreaking to see so many children still have restrictions placed on their learning as they wonder why life is returning to normal for everyone except them. If Democrats really cared about students then they would stop allowing the teachers’ unions to use the pandemic as an excuse to fundamentally transform the public education system for the worst and start reversing the damage they have already caused to an entire generation."
N2 America co-founder Liesl Hickey also chimed in, speaking as a mom. "As a mom of three, I can tell you that kids recognize hypocrisy when they see it," she said. "Our kids are the least at risk but have been harmed the most. What the unions and Democrats have done to them is unconscionable, and it doesn't reflect the data, science or facts. Kids need their childhood back now."
These television ads will air in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington, D.C. on programs like "Good Morning America" and "The View."
"Many schools in Denver, Flint, and Minneapolis in January moved to remote learning due to COVID-19. Flint Community Schools has been taken to task by the Detroit News Editorial Board for remaining remote “indefinitely” and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association even pushed its members last month to call halt in-person instruction district-wide," the press release mentions about the relevance of those states.
One can see from the Burbio tracker on school closures that those regions are also particularly affected.
To add to the devastating nature, as Leah covered on Wednesday, a Johns Hopkins study found that lockdowns in the spring of 2020--which affected schools but other places as well, such as businesses--had "little to no" effect on mortality and "only reduced COVID-19 mortality by .2% on average."
When it comes to school closures specifically, though, experts have consistently affirmed that children are safe and better off learning in the classroom, and that closures can have catastrophic consequences on mental health and learning abilities.
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