A nation of hermits

The Epoch Times reported, "Oregon Middle School Halts In-Person Classes Due to Students ‘Struggling With Socialization Skills.’"

The story said, "A middle school in Oregon is pausing in-person instruction for two weeks over classroom disruptions that officials say are caused by some students 'struggling with the socialization skills necessary for in-person learning.'

"It comes after the school was forced to provide distance learning over the past year due to the covid-19 pandemic, starting in spring 2020. The school was able to provide some in-person instruction in the spring of 2021 but still continued with distance learning before recently shifting to full in-person learning."

They no longer behave.

The story quoted Superintendent Danna Diaz, who said, "The shifts in learning methods and isolation caused by COVID-19 closures and quarantines have taken a toll on the well-being of our students and staff.

"We are finding that some students are struggling with the socialization skills necessary for in-person learning, which is causing disruption in school for other students."

It may be a one-off school, but it does fit the narrative of a nation that is hurting as it emerges from a lockdown that was totally unnecessary, unconstitutional, and ineffective. We failed to stop covid.

Duh.

It is a virus.

Fauci isn't McAfee killing the virus.

The suffering is very real. CDC reported in the first year of the lockdown, overdose deaths topped 100,000 making it the 7th leading cause of death.

In the previous 12 months, the deaths were a shade under 75,000.

Overdose deaths fell in only 3 states. South Dakota (which never locked down) had the biggest drop at 19.8%.

Overdose deaths in Vermont rose 69.9%, the largest rise.

Isolation is deadly. We have made that easier by legalizing some recreational drugs, and by trading with Red China despite its being the largest exporter of fentanyl. We are in a drug culture.

Staying at home has never been easier. We replaced restaurants with drive-throughs, and then replaced drive-throughs with Grub Hub.

Buying online allows us to shelter in place.

Riley Winters wrote 4 years ago, "Revealing the Recluse: The Sad and Secret Lives of Hermits."

He cataloged hermits in various societies. Most fitting was the hermitting of children.

He said, "In the medieval period, the hermitages and recluse societies were often populated by men or women who had been 'gifted' to the church as children, called oblates. It was rather common, as a matter of fact, for the wealthy to do so; ironically, those children were then metaphorically imprisoned within the church. Texts dictate that a room was built in the wall, and the child 'bricked' inside with an older caretaker. Essentially, the child was traded out of a life of luxury for one of strict rules and isolation by his/her parents. In most cases, the child could not or did not attempt to flee their situation. One of the only ones who did, Hildegard von Bingen, went on to continue her religious teachings in society."

People need time alone. I get that. But people also need people. Interaction is important to happiness.

Oregon is robbing middle school students of the most important education: learning how to deal with other people.