Economic indicators continue to reveal the damaging impacts of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Internet gaming platform Spider-Solitaire Challenge found 54 percent of study respondents in Michigan reported suffering from “pandemic brain,” which it described as “a decline in your cognitive abilities” during the time in-person learning was banned, businesses were ordered closed, and religious services were restricted, according to the Daily Mining Gazette.
Meanwhile, online real estate website isoldmyhouse.com found “35 percent of young adults (18-35 years old) have moved back in with parents and 20 percent of parents in Michigan say they feel burdened by this. Of that percentage, 15 percent say they have had to delay retirement plans in order to support their adult children,” the newspaper said.
On top of the free housing, 16 percent of young adults “have received financial support from their parents.”
The survey found two-thirds of the so-called “boomerangers” considered moving back home not as a sign of failure, but rather a “prudent” one.
“Although moving back in with parents can be seen as a step backwards, looking at it from a sociological point of view, what has happened is entirely predictable – this generation of young adults have been priced out of the real estate market in a way that their parents never were, and many have lost their jobs due to the pandemic,” Kris Lippi of isoldmyhouse.com said.
“If moving back in with parents helps young people’s mental and financial health, then it has to be a positive thing to do.”
In September, WWMT reported Michigan students suffered “dramatic declines” in M-STEP test scores after Whitmer’s orders disrupted traditional in-person learning for millions of students.
While Whitmer opted to continue to mandate remote learning, numerous studies demonstrated that the risk of transmitting COVID-19 for students during in-person learning was low.
Furthermore, an analysis conducted by McKinsey demonstrated that remote learning often hurt minority students the most.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has taken an especially heavy toll on Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous communities. Along with robbing them of lives and livelihoods, school shutdowns could deny students from these communities the opportunity to get the education they need to build a brighter future,” the analysis explained.
State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice argued it was merely “unfinished learning.”
“In spite of the extraordinary efforts of educators, support staff, school leaders, parents, the broader community, and students themselves, the disruption of the pandemic has inevitably resulted in unfinished learning for many of our children,” Rice told WWMT.
It is entirely possible scores would have been even lower if all students took the assessments. According to Rice, only 75 percent of students participated.
“The 2020-21 school year was such an uneven year with high health risks for students and staff, inconsistent technology, and variations in teaching and learning across the state,” Rice, an appointee of the state board of education, said. “Any analysis of M-STEP results must factor in low participation rates in state testing.”
Rice and Whitmer tried unsuccessfully to seek a waiver from testing requirements.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
