Briefing | Lessons from disaster

How covid-19 is inspiring education reform

Catching up will be hard to do

IN THE FIRST three months of the pandemic Shawnie Bennett, a single mother from Oakland in California, lost her job and her brother, who died of covid-19. Grief made the trials of lockdown more difficult—including that of helping her eight-year-old daughter, Xa’viar, continue her schooling online. In November Ms Bennett signed her daughter up for online classes provided by a local parents’ group, which arranged for her to see a tutor every Saturday morning. A test this month showed that her reading skills are improving fast.

This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “Catching up is hard to do”

Power and paranoia: The Chinese Communist Party at 100

From the June 26th 2021 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Briefing

An illustration of Donald Trump depicted as a Roman emperor in the Oval Office ncluding a horse as a senator and feature him serving hamburgers and Coca-Cola.

The right in Congress and the courts will reshape Donald Trump’s agenda

As dominant as the new president is, there is still life in Washington’s institutions

 Asylum-seeking migrants walk along the US-Mexico border fence near the Jacumba Hot Spring, California

How far will Donald Trump go to get rid of illegal immigrants?

It is his signature policy, but the obstacles are daunting


A photo collage about plastic surgery boon, featuring public figures like Joe Jonas and Kim Kardashian

Young customers in developing countries propel a boom in plastic surgery

Falling costs and converging beauty standards spur new habits


The Assad regime’s fall voids many of the Middle East’s old certainties

What if Syria abandoned its hostility to the West and stopped menacing Israel?

Syria has exchanged a vile dictator for an uncertain future

It is not clear how stable or how benign the new regime will be

Gambling is growing like gangbusters in America

Technology and legal changes are spurring a betting bonanza