“It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of education have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty.” –Albert Einstein
Standard education in America typically focuses on creating a supply of worker bees who follow orders from authority and operate within the confines that the system has set out, but lack critical thinking skills. Even before the insanity around COVID-19 lockdowns began, the results of such a system which suppresses and discourages creativity and imagination were already having a detrimental effect on children. Now, however, thanks to a set of often cruel and entirely arbitrary regulations, children across the planet are being severely harmed by government mandates, school regulations, and lockdowns.
Last month a study by researchers at the University of Cambridge found that the government-imposed lockdowns in response to the coronavirus pandemic cause significant harm to children’s mental health. The study, published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, was the first of its kind to analyze data on younger children’s mental health before and during the first lockdown in the United Kingdom last spring.
Following 168 children between the ages of 7 ½ and 11 ½, the researchers conclude:
During the UK lockdown, children’s depression symptoms have increased substantially, relative to before lockdown. The scale of this effect has direct relevance for the continuation of different elements of lockdown policy, such as complete or partial school closures.
