38: Lisa Remy on the Safest Path to Schools Reopening and Ben Sheehan on the Contents of the Constitution

Politics War Room with James Carville & Al Hunt

Politicon

News Commentary, Politics, Government, News, National

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🗓️ 16 July 2020

⏱️ 50 minutes

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Summary

While the coronavirus creates chaos and uncertainty in every sector, there are few things as vital to both the immediate and distant future of the United States as the country's education system. And its importance is matched only by the complexity involved in starting the school year safely in a few months. As West Des Moines Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Lisa Remy points out, every school is different, and no one plan will suffice for all of the nearly 13,000 school districts throughout the country. And on the topic of learning, author Ben Sheehan ("OMG WTF Does The Constitution Actually Say?") laments the lack of civic education and what that means for the future of American democracy.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to 2020 Palatok's War Room with James Carville. I'm Al Hunt. I'm here in Washington.
0:12.2	James is in the Shenandoah. We are proud partners with a sign institute at American University.
0:17.6	We're going to learn a lot with today's show, but first please subscribe to the podcast on Apple
0:23.2	Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Every new listener helps thanks so
0:29.9	much, so thanks for being here. You know James, there are a lot of pressing priorities during this
0:34.5	terrible pandemic. We all want the economy and jobs to bounce back. We all want to be able to
0:39.2	share time and occasions with friends and family. For those like you and me, we want to watch sports
0:43.6	again, but nothing, nothing is as important as opening schools later this summer. The educational
0:50.6	and social costs to kids and their families, a missing school is staggering and could take a
0:55.9	long time to overcome. The same time, COVID-19 is surging in many places. And in your friend John
1:02.2	Barry, the foremost expert on the 1918 influenza, told us four months ago we're not preparing and
1:08.3	unfortunately that has in too many places been the case. School superintendents all over America
1:14.6	this week are struggling with some really tough choices to open and how, what limitations, what
1:20.6	contingencies. One is Lisa Rainey, the superintendent of schools in West Des Moines, Iowa, with 9,000
1:27.0	students. A lot of middle-class kids also over a third qualifying for the school lunch program.
1:33.6	And she is one of the most outstanding school superintendents in the entire state of Iowa.
1:39.3	She joins us now from Des Moines. Thank you so much for being with us Dr. Rainey.
1:43.2	Well, thank you. Thanks for having me. You have gone through for weeks. What must be an agonizing
1:49.9	series of choices? You've decided at least for now on a hybrid plan, giving parents
1:55.4	the option of online learning with permission or in-person classes with very strict rules.
2:01.2	This must have really, really been a tough process. Tell us how you came to your conclusion.
2:06.7	Yeah, I would tell you it's been when I went into school administration, I guess I never imagined
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