Education Sec’y Cardona on Whether Masks Hurt Learning: ‘Being Quarantined’ or Not Having a Teacher Hinders Learning

During an interview with ABC News on Tuesday, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona responded to a question on whether or not wearing masks hurts children’s ability to learn by stating that “Being quarantined because they have COVID, or not having a teacher because their teacher has COVID” hurts kids’ learning and that his children are sick of wearing masks, “But they also realize that they’ll wear the masks so that they can take part in extracurricular activities after school, so that they can see their teachers, they can see their friends.”

Host Kyra Phillips asked, “Do you think masks hinder kids’ learning?”

Cardona responded, “You know what hinders kids’ learning? Being quarantined because they have COVID, or not having a teacher because their teacher has COVID. Listen, there’s a lot of fatigue with COVID. I, too, am tired of wearing masks. I know my high school-aged children are tired of wearing masks. But they also realize that they’ll wear the masks so that they can take part in extracurricular activities after school, so that they can see their teachers, they can see their friends. Yes, they’re tired of wearing masks, but, at the end of the day, they would prefer to wear masks and be in school than have to quarantine like they did in previous years.”

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