csmonitor--2020-07-22--Jane Austen rescued her: A memoir about reading and solace

Even though the year is only a little more than halfway gone , 2020 has understandably been filled with talk about the “ solace ” of reading .
More so than in any previous year in living memory , readers have been diving into books in order to escape the harsh realities of the outside world .
In her new book “ Austen Years : A Memoir in Five Novels , ” award-winning author Rachel Cohen writes of exactly this kind of solace-seeking .
While dealing with her father ’ s death and the birth of her daughter , Cohen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the novels of Jane Austen that was more fixed , almost more compulsory , than anything she ’ d previously imagined for herself .
In the opening pages , she muses that “ if you had told me that years were coming when I would hardly pick up another serious writer with any real concentration , that the doings of a few English families would come to define almost the entire territory of my reading imagination , and that I would reach a point of such familiarity that I would simply let Austen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a sentence or two as people in other times and places might use an almanac to soothe and predict , I would have been appalled.
” Her readers will be more forgiving on that point .
Many of them have likely experienced the same degree of beneficial concentration in times of stress or sorrow , whether it ’ s Austen or the Brontë sisters or Shakespeare .
But they also won ’ t find anything appalling in these pages .
Cohen has taken her fascination with – and personal dependence on – one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any reader in the world will find downright marvelous .
Austen herself had a stylishly self-deprecating view of her own books ; she described them as “ the little bit ( two Inches wide ) of Ivory on which I work with so fine a Brush , as produces little effect after much labour.
” But her adoring readers have never for an instant believed that effect to be “ little , ” and among many other things , “ Austen Years ” underscores that Austen is a timeless author , the builder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imagines .
“ If I picture a map of the five Austen novels in my mind , the first four are like the orbiting bodies of a planetary system , widening outward in concentric circles , from the tight binary star of the two sisters in Sense and Sensibility , to the family life of Pride and Prejudice , to the wider ellipse of Mansfield Park , all the way out to the perfectible community resonant in Emma .
Persuasion is something like an asteroid that moves , irregularly , repeatedly , among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ figures repeatedly in “ Austen Years ” as both something of a wild card and as a lightning rod .
“ Second chances may come when some chances are gone , ” Cohen writes .
“ Austen is always described as witty , stylish , but Persuasion is a melancholy book.
” The story of patient , realistic Anne Elliot resonates throughout the book , in large part because , as Cohen points out , “ Persuasion is about mourning.
” Grief , she writes , “ runs through the whole of life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Austen Years ” is not a gloomy book .
The sadness of a dying parent is balanced throughout the narrative by the joy of welcoming a new child into the world , and every page is charged with the complicated , multilayered thrill of reading .
The reading focus here , of course , is Austen , and even the most dedicated Janeites will find in these pages plenty of fascinating insights into their author .
The book is at once an impressive analysis of Austen ’ s fiction and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At its heart , however , this story is as much about the joy of reading as it is about anything else .
In a very real way , reading Austen saved Rachel Cohen at crucial moments in her life , and although Austen has been the focus of many such concentrations ( the Monitor , for instance , previously reviewed Ted Scheinman ’ s “ Camp Austen : My Life as an Accidental Jane Austen Superfan ” ) , she ’ s far from alone in providing such a service .
Readers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Genji , ” “ The Hound of the Baskervilles , ” Horace ’ s “ Odes , ” and a thousand other works over the millennia .
Some of those readers have then written their own books , which can go on themselves to become sources of solace for future readers .
“ Austen Years ” joins those books as a shining account of how indispensable books can be .

Even though the year is only a little more than halfway gone, 2020 has understandably been filled with talk about the “solace” of reading. More so than in any previous year in living memory, readers have been diving into books in order to escape the harsh realities of the outside world.
In her new book “Austen Years: A Memoir in Five Novels,” award-winning author Rachel Cohen writes of exactly this kind of solace-seeking. While dealing with her father’s death and the birth of her daughter, Cohen found herself in a readerly relationship with the novels of Jane Austen that was more fixed, almost more compulsory, than anything she’d previously imagined for herself. In the opening pages, she muses that “if you had told me that years were coming when I would hardly pick up another serious writer with any real concentration, that the doings of a few English families would come to define almost the entire territory of my reading imagination, and that I would reach a point of such familiarity that I would simply let Austen’s books fall open and read a sentence or two as people in other times and places might use an almanac to soothe and predict, I would have been appalled.”
Her readers will be more forgiving on that point. Many of them have likely experienced the same degree of beneficial concentration in times of stress or sorrow, whether it’s Austen or the Brontë sisters or Shakespeare. But they also won’t find anything appalling in these pages. Cohen has taken her fascination with – and personal dependence on – one great author and transmutes it into something any reader in the world will find downright marvelous.
Austen herself had a stylishly self-deprecating view of her own books; she described them as “the little bit (two Inches wide) of Ivory on which I work with so fine a Brush, as produces little effect after much labour.” But her adoring readers have never for an instant believed that effect to be “little,” and among many other things, “Austen Years” underscores that Austen is a timeless author, the builder of an endless world, as Cohen imagines. “If I picture a map of the five Austen novels in my mind, the first four are like the orbiting bodies of a planetary system, widening outward in concentric circles, from the tight binary star of the two sisters in Sense and Sensibility, to the family life of Pride and Prejudice, to the wider ellipse of Mansfield Park, all the way out to the perfectible community resonant in Emma. Persuasion is something like an asteroid that moves, irregularly, repeatedly, among the different spheres.”
“Persuasion” figures repeatedly in “Austen Years” as both something of a wild card and as a lightning rod. “Second chances may come when some chances are gone,” Cohen writes. “Austen is always described as witty, stylish, but Persuasion is a melancholy book.” The story of patient, realistic Anne Elliot resonates throughout the book, in large part because, as Cohen points out, “Persuasion is about mourning.” Grief, she writes, “runs through the whole of life and leaves nothing untouched.”
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And yet, “Austen Years” is not a gloomy book. The sadness of a dying parent is balanced throughout the narrative by the joy of welcoming a new child into the world, and every page is charged with the complicated, multilayered thrill of reading. The reading focus here, of course, is Austen, and even the most dedicated Janeites will find in these pages plenty of fascinating insights into their author. The book is at once an impressive analysis of Austen’s fiction and a first-rate biography of Austen herself.
At its heart, however, this story is as much about the joy of reading as it is about anything else. In a very real way, reading Austen saved Rachel Cohen at crucial moments in her life, and although Austen has been the focus of many such concentrations (the Monitor, for instance, previously reviewed Ted Scheinman’s “Camp Austen: My Life as an Accidental Jane Austen Superfan”), she’s far from alone in providing such a service. Readers have found solace in “The Tale of Genji,” “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” Horace’s “Odes,” and a thousand other works over the millennia. Some of those readers have then written their own books, which can go on themselves to become sources of solace for future readers. “Austen Years” joins those books as a shining account of how indispensable books can be.


csmonitor--2020-07-22--‘The Index of Self-Destructive Acts’ looks at the ways people mess up

Christopher Beha ’ s thoughtful and entertaining novel “ The Index of Self-Destructive Acts ” probes the intersecting lives of a small group of people in New York City caught up in the aftermath of the 2008 financial meltdown .
The book ’ s title refers to a baseball statistic , invented by American baseball writer and statistician Bill James , which is the total number of hit batsmen , wild pitches , balks , and errors committed by a pitcher , per nine innings .
Beha , a baseball fan , has taken this metric to give the reader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spirit of the age in which we live .
“ What makes a life ?
” asks protagonist Sam Waxworth when he first arrives in New York , “ self or circumstance ?
” Waxworth – who in Beha ’ s story used statistical data to accurately forecast the outcome of the entire 2008 election – has been hired by the news outlet Interviewer to write a daily blog and column .
His first assignment is to interview long-time baseball guru and prominent political columnist Frank Doyle , who has authored several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been fired from his job due to a “ self-destructive ” act .
Through Frank , Sam meets the other members of the Doyle family , which includes Kit , the family matriarch , who lost her investment bank to the financial crisis ; Eddie , their son , recently returned from a second combat tour in Iraq ; Justin Price , Eddie ’ s best childhood friend , who has become a successful hedge fund manager ; and Frank and Kit ’ s daughter , Margo , a graduate student and aspiring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lucy , comes on the scene later after moving from Wisconsin to join him .
The action in the novel shifts from Manhattan ’ s Upper East Side to the Doyle family ’ s summer home in the Hamptons and back again .
Beha , a Big Apple resident , knows the territory well and his descriptions of both locations put you right into the scene .
Sometimes the characters ’ self-destructive nature is patently obvious to them – as when Margo and Waxworth seem headed to an adulterous relationship .
Other times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is impelled by a charitable and self-effacing act like the one between Eddie and his newfound mentor , Herman Nash , a Washington Square preacher .
Deeper philosophical questions underlie this engaging narrative .
Are we programmed to act by heredity , fate , environment , or just stubborn psychological traits ?
Or as one of the characters asks himself , “ ... why do we have to keep getting things wrong ?
If we really learned from our mistakes , shouldn ’ t we make fewer all the time ?
We weren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in us wanted to be irrational .
Something wanted , perhaps , to be wrong .
We hated nothing more than indisputable evidence , because we wanted to dispute .
We wanted to take sides .
We had more and more information , which ought to make our decisions better , but all we did with this information was find new ways to [ mess ] up.
” Beha ’ s pacing is smooth .
I like the way he moves the reader forward in a page-turning mode and never signals any obvious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sympathetic .
Importantly , there are implicit questions about where to place your faith – in money , religion , statistics , country : Questions that leave you thinking .

Christopher Beha’s thoughtful and entertaining novel “The Index of Self-Destructive Acts” probes the intersecting lives of a small group of people in New York City caught up in the aftermath of the 2008 financial meltdown.
The book’s title refers to a baseball statistic, invented by American baseball writer and statistician Bill James, which is the total number of hit batsmen, wild pitches, balks, and errors committed by a pitcher, per nine innings. Beha, a baseball fan, has taken this metric to give the reader a deeply readable, contemporary take on the spirit of the age in which we live.
“What makes a life?” asks protagonist Sam Waxworth when he first arrives in New York, “self or circumstance?” Waxworth – who in Beha’s story used statistical data to accurately forecast the outcome of the entire 2008 election – has been hired by the news outlet Interviewer to write a daily blog and column. His first assignment is to interview long-time baseball guru and prominent political columnist Frank Doyle, who has authored several books on the sport and has recently been fired from his job due to a “self-destructive” act.
Through Frank, Sam meets the other members of the Doyle family, which includes Kit, the family matriarch, who lost her investment bank to the financial crisis; Eddie, their son, recently returned from a second combat tour in Iraq; Justin Price, Eddie’s best childhood friend, who has become a successful hedge fund manager; and Frank and Kit’s daughter, Margo, a graduate student and aspiring poet. Waxworth’s wife, Lucy, comes on the scene later after moving from Wisconsin to join him.
The action in the novel shifts from Manhattan’s Upper East Side to the Doyle family’s summer home in the Hamptons and back again. Beha, a Big Apple resident, knows the territory well and his descriptions of both locations put you right into the scene. Sometimes the characters’ self-destructive nature is patently obvious to them – as when Margo and Waxworth seem headed to an adulterous relationship. Other times, the index is less harmful and is impelled by a charitable and self-effacing act like the one between Eddie and his newfound mentor, Herman Nash, a Washington Square preacher.
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Deeper philosophical questions underlie this engaging narrative. Are we programmed to act by heredity, fate, environment, or just stubborn psychological traits? Or as one of the characters asks himself, “... why do we have to keep getting things wrong? If we really learned from our mistakes, shouldn’t we make fewer all the time? We weren’t just occasionally irrational. Something in us wanted to be irrational. Something wanted, perhaps, to be wrong. We hated nothing more than indisputable evidence, because we wanted to dispute. We wanted to take sides. We had more and more information, which ought to make our decisions better, but all we did with this information was find new ways to [mess] up.”
Beha’s pacing is smooth. I like the way he moves the reader forward in a page-turning mode and never signals any obvious turns. The characters are well-drawn and sympathetic. Importantly, there are implicit questions about where to place your faith – in money, religion, statistics, country: Questions that leave you thinking.


csmonitor--2020-07-22--Q&A with with William J. Drummond, author of  ‘Prison Truth’

William J. Drummond , a pioneering African American reporter in the 1960s and currently a journalism professor at the University of California , Berkeley , began mentoring prisoner journalists several years ago .
He writes about the experience in his book , “ Prison Truth : The Story of the San Quentin News.
” In an interview , he talked about the power of storytelling behind bars .
Q : What impressed you about the incarcerated men with whom you worked ?
I was amazed at their level of interest in journalism and the attention they paid to the topics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ve routinely given in every writing class I ’ ve ever taught : Write your own obituary .
The results were enlightening .
They often portrayed themselves as the heroes in their own life stories .
They had a tough beginning , and they got in trouble , but something miraculous happened .
Then they went back to their communities and were leaders and positive forces .
I left the door wide open to how they portrayed their own demise , and some did heroic things to prove their worth , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staff member .
This was a huge personal insight , more than I ’ ve gotten in my years of covering what we used to call the underclass .
I ponder it all the time .
Nobody is all good , and nobody is all bad .
Q : What sort of backgrounds do these men have ?
They were in prison for every possible offense , and they were typically in their 40s , with some in their 30s , 50s , and 60s .
Many in their 40s had come into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crime 15 to 20 years ago .
And a lot were out on the street and involved in one form or another in personal wars , gang wars , or drugs .
Q : How do they compare with the undergraduates you teach ?
It ’ s not like a normal classroom where everybody ’ s looking at their watch .
The prisoners really , really want to be there .
These guys are great conversationalists compared to the students I encounter now .
We ’ ve got a whole generation of kids @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to them and don ’ t have the ability to tell a story , to just sit down and entertain people .
In prison , you have nothing better to do than listen and talk , so they can be very entertaining conversationalists .
Q : You brought student journalists inside the prison .
What happened ?
They were really intimidated at first .
And then , little by little , they develop friendships and learn how to conduct conversations .
Q : How did the San Quentin News avoid censorship or shutdown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to allow a newspaper to be produced .
That ’ s the reality .
There was an enlightened warden who laid down the rules : If the governor sees the paper one day and shuts it down because it ’ s gone too far , you will have failed .
And you do not want to fail .
So there is censorship .
But it ’ s self-imposed .
The men concentrate on stories of rehabilitation , redemption , and success , and there ’ s a big audience for that .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reputation as a rehabilitative environment that helps people to go home .
That ’ s why prisoners want to go there .
Q : The pandemic may change the rules about personal interactions behind bars .
What might come next for the San Quentin News , which seems to be on hiatus ?
The newspaper ’ s impact goes beyond just publishing a thousand copies .
It has created a partnership between the prison management and a group of prisoners .
I don ’ t know if they ’ ll let us work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the newspaper really needs to be saved .
The San Quentin News can be read online at www.sanquentinnews.com .

William J. Drummond, a pioneering African American reporter in the 1960s and currently a journalism professor at the University of California, Berkeley, began mentoring prisoner journalists several years ago. He writes about the experience in his book, “Prison Truth: The Story of the San Quentin News.” In an interview, he talked about the power of storytelling behind bars.
Q: What impressed you about the incarcerated men with whom you worked?
I was amazed at their level of interest in journalism and the attention they paid to the topics.
I gave them an assignment that I’ve routinely given in every writing class I’ve ever taught: Write your own obituary. The results were enlightening. They often portrayed themselves as the heroes in their own life stories. They had a tough beginning, and they got in trouble, but something miraculous happened. Then they went back to their communities and were leaders and positive forces.
I left the door wide open to how they portrayed their own demise, and some did heroic things to prove their worth, like saving the life of a prison staff member.
This was a huge personal insight, more than I’ve gotten in my years of covering what we used to call the underclass. I ponder it all the time. Nobody is all good, and nobody is all bad.
Q: What sort of backgrounds do these men have?
They were in prison for every possible offense, and they were typically in their 40s, with some in their 30s, 50s, and 60s. Many in their 40s had come into prison during California’s crackdown on crime 15 to 20 years ago. And a lot were out on the street and involved in one form or another in personal wars, gang wars, or drugs.
Q: How do they compare with the undergraduates you teach?
It’s not like a normal classroom where everybody’s looking at their watch. The prisoners really, really want to be there. These guys are great conversationalists compared to the students I encounter now. We’ve got a whole generation of kids who might be texting someone standing next to them and don’t have the ability to tell a story, to just sit down and entertain people. In prison, you have nothing better to do than listen and talk, so they can be very entertaining conversationalists.
Q: You brought student journalists inside the prison. What happened?
They were really intimidated at first. And then, little by little, they develop friendships and learn how to conduct conversations.
Q: How did the San Quentin News avoid censorship or shutdown?
The prison is under no obligation to allow a newspaper to be produced. That’s the reality. There was an enlightened warden who laid down the rules: If the governor sees the paper one day and shuts it down because it’s gone too far, you will have failed. And you do not want to fail. So there is censorship. But it’s self-imposed.
The men concentrate on stories of rehabilitation, redemption, and success, and there’s a big audience for that. It corresponds with San Quentin’s new reputation as a rehabilitative environment that helps people to go home. That’s why prisoners want to go there.
Q: The pandemic may change the rules about personal interactions behind bars. What might come next for the San Quentin News, which seems to be on hiatus?
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The newspaper’s impact goes beyond just publishing a thousand copies. It has created a partnership between the prison management and a group of prisoners. I don’t know if they’ll let us work with prisoners face to face. But the newspaper really needs to be saved.
The San Quentin News can be read online at www.sanquentinnews.com.


csmonitor--2020-07-22--Campaigning in America's year of crisis

Campaigning in America's year of crisis

Ideally , under normal circumstances , presidential campaigns are about ideas .
Taxes – up or down ?
How should health care be delivered and paid for ?
What about education ?
But 2020 is no normal election cycle .
And when you ’ re the sitting president , painting a vision for the future may seem irrelevant during a national crisis .
When you ’ re the challenger , presenting your ideas – including an approach to the pandemic – is Step 1 .
But you also have to convince voters that you ’ re up to the task @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to turn out – especially those in battleground states .
For now , the 2020 race is a referendum on President Donald Trump .
But as Ari Fleischer , former press secretary for President George W. Bush , told me in April , by Election Day the race will morph into a choice .
It always does , he said .
Now the choices are becoming clearer , and the outcome may well boil down to this : Who do voters believe can best address the pandemic and its impacts come Inauguration Day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the situation will be by then , but we know it will still be front and center .
Unlike Democratic nominee Joe Biden , President Trump is standing for election and dealing with the pandemic simultaneously .
Fairly or not , he will face blame on Nov. 3 and likely defeat if enough Americans decide he has failed .
Last Friday , my Monitor colleagues made clear in this story that COVID-19 would have been devastating under any U.S. president .
But , they write , failures of leadership – both at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also to blame .
“ We basically blew it , ” says epidemiologist Kenneth Bernard , who ran the office on global health threats in the Clinton and second Bush White Houses .
In recent weeks , when asked for his second term agenda , Mr. Trump hasn ’ t offered much detail .
In a way , that 's understandable .
The overwhelmingly dominant issues today are the pandemic and the economy , and it 's impossible to know now where they will stand come January .
Mr. Trump is counting on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to help him in November .
In the view of his supporters , he built a strong economy once and he can do it again .
But yesterday , the president 's usual optimism about the virus flagged .
The pandemic `` will probably , unfortunately , get worse before it gets better , '' Mr. Trump said in his first coronavirus briefing since April .
How soon the caseload `` curve '' can be flattened may well determine who wins in November – and who gets to carry the ball forward during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re thinking at csmpolitics @ csmonitor.com .

Dear reader:
Ideally, under normal circumstances, presidential campaigns are about ideas. Taxes – up or down? How should health care be delivered and paid for? What about education?
But 2020 is no normal election cycle. And when you’re the sitting president, painting a vision for the future may seem irrelevant during a national crisis. When you’re the challenger, presenting your ideas – including an approach to the pandemic – is Step 1. But you also have to convince voters that you’re up to the task, then motivate “your” voters to turn out – especially those in battleground states.
For now, the 2020 race is a referendum on President Donald Trump. But as Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for President George W. Bush, told me in April, by Election Day the race will morph into a choice. It always does, he said.
Now the choices are becoming clearer, and the outcome may well boil down to this: Who do voters believe can best address the pandemic and its impacts come Inauguration Day 2021? We don’t know where the situation will be by then, but we know it will still be front and center.
Unlike Democratic nominee Joe Biden, President Trump is standing for election and dealing with the pandemic simultaneously. Fairly or not, he will face blame on Nov. 3 and likely defeat if enough Americans decide he has failed. Last Friday, my Monitor colleagues made clear in this story that COVID-19 would have been devastating under any U.S. president. But, they write, failures of leadership – both at the White house and elsewhere – are also to blame.
“We basically blew it,” says epidemiologist Kenneth Bernard, who ran the office on global health threats in the Clinton and second Bush White Houses.
In recent weeks, when asked for his second term agenda, Mr. Trump hasn’t offered much detail. In a way, that's understandable. The overwhelmingly dominant issues today are the pandemic and the economy, and it's impossible to know now where they will stand come January.
Mr. Trump is counting on his strong economic record, pre-pandemic, to help him in November. In the view of his supporters, he built a strong economy once and he can do it again. But yesterday, the president's usual optimism about the virus flagged.
The pandemic "will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better," Mr. Trump said in his first coronavirus briefing since April.
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
How soon the caseload "curve" can be flattened may well determine who wins in November – and who gets to carry the ball forward during unprecedented times.
Let us know what you’re thinking at csmpolitics@csmonitor.com.


csmonitor--2020-07-22--As China tensions rise, Trump and Biden spar for ‘tough guy’ mantle

“ What has changed in the last few years is that increasingly American public opinion sees us in a long-term competition with China , ” says Mira Rapp-Hooper , of the Council on Foreign Relations .
That shift extends to concern over “ the way the world order will be governed.
” But beyond how candidates respond to specific provocations from Beijing , some say China ’ s rise is forcing a reevaluation of America ’ s role in the world .
Mr. Trump may use sanctions more , while Mr. Biden would likely work more closely with Asian allies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also differ , experts say , on how they use international accords and institutions to challenge China ’ s vision of global governance .
No matter who wins in November , analysts say , the spiraling relations between the two superpowers are here for the foreseeable future .
But that doesn ’ t mean that a Biden White House and a Trump White House would confront China in similar ways .
Months after President Donald Trump declared the U.S.-China relationship “ the best it ’ s been in a long , long time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tune .
On Tuesday , for example , the U.S. ordered the Chinese consulate in Houston closed , even as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised Britain ’ s recent actions to counter an increasingly assertive Beijing .
On TV stations across the battleground state of Pennsylvania , President Donald Trump has been running ads that depict former Vice President Joe Biden as weak on China .
There ’ s a smiling Mr. Biden clinking glasses with Chinese leader Xi Jinping , and then there he is telling “ folks ” that “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be outdone , the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has also been running ads in swing states blasting the president for going soft on China – in particular on the coronavirus pandemic .
One ad reminds viewers that Mr. Trump initially praised Mr. Xi for the “ very good job ” he was doing to control the outbreak .
Whether or not the ads actually sway any voters is an open question .
But what the effort of the two candidates to out-tough each other on China seems to suggest is that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spiraling relations between the two superpowers are here for the foreseeable future .
Mr. Trump may use sanctions more , while Mr. Biden is likely to work more closely with Asian allies to counter China , some experts say .
The former vice president , who has said he has spent more time with Mr. Xi than any other foreign leader – and so has a clearer window into his motivations – is also likely to try to maintain good enough relations with Beijing to work on global issues like climate change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that some now compare to the Cold War is part of a broad geopolitical shift that actually predates Mr. Trump ’ s arrival at the White House , others say – and will continue no matter who occupies the Oval Office .
“ The shift [ to a more adversarial relationship with China ] has been bipartisan – it just happened to coincide with the election of Donald Trump , ” says James Carafano , vice president of national security and foreign policy studies at the Heritage Foundation in Washington .
“ Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Republicans , it ’ s just that Trump ’ s rhetoric matched where the country was already headed , ” he adds .
“ Any debate is pretty much over , to a point where skepticism on China is demonstrably bipartisan.
” Indeed , just months after President Trump declared the relationship with China “ the best it ’ s been in a long , long time , ” the administration has taken a series of steps signaling an adversarial approach to China .
On Tuesday the U.S. ordered the Chinese consulate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of State Mike Pompeo traveled to London to praise recent British actions targeting China – and called for the U.S. and Britain to go further together to counter an increasingly assertive Beijing .
Beyond who sounds tougher on job losses to China , or the specifics of how each candidate might respond to Chinese military provocations in the South China Sea , some say the rise of China is essentially forcing a reevaluation of America ’ s role in the world that is likely to surface in a variety of ways in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first great-power competitor to arise since the collapse of the Soviet Union , and so as one result China poses the question for us about the type of 21st century great power we are going to be , ” says Mira Rapp-Hooper , senior fellow for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York .
China has played small parts in some presidential campaigns , Ms. Rapp-Hooper says – as in 1992 , when the U.S. response to China in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests surfaced in candidate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign , she says , is how widely China is viewed negatively by the American electorate .
“ What has changed in the last few years is that increasingly American public opinion sees us in a long-term competition with China , ” she adds .
That shift extends to concern over “ the way the world order will be governed.
” Ms. Rapp-Hooper does not agree , however , that broad mistrust means China policy is largely precast no matter who wins the White House .
On two key fronts , how a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ differ significantly from the Trump approach , she says : One is how the U.S. interacts with its Asian allies , and the other is how the U.S. envisions its involvement in international accords and institutions as a means of challenging China ’ s vision of global governance .
Based on Mr. Biden ’ s foreign-policy track record , Ms. Rapp-Hooper says she would expect the former vice president not just to “ repair ” but to “ set about to renovate the alliance system for the 21st century.
” Part of such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new strategies and institutions within the alliances to respond to concerns in non-military domains ” such as cyberattacks and disinformation .
Some former national security officials now aligned with the Biden campaign have speculated that Mr. Xi would prefer Mr. Trump to win based on the assumption that a President Biden would rebuild America ’ s alliances .
Yet while Mr. Trump may have been labelled the anti-alliance president based on his questioning of their relevance and demands they pay their way , Mr. Carafano says it ’ s simply not accurate to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particularly in Asia , are in disrepair .
“ The people saying relations with our Asian allies need repair are ignoring reality on the ground , ” he says .
“ Look at U.S.-Australia relations – never stronger .
U.S.-Japan ?
Never stronger .
India has never been closer to the U.S. , ” he adds , “ and as for U.S.-South Korea relations , they ’ re not in trouble.
” “ The way you treat allies is so important , and here ’ s Trump telling South Korea ‘ You have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we have there , ’ but what does that get you , really ?
” says Lawrence Korb , a former assistant secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan who is now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress ( CAP ) in Washington .
“ We ’ re doing pretty much the same thing with Japan.
” Even if Mr. Biden wins the White House , just returning to where relations with Asian allies were four years ago won ’ t be the answer , U.S.-China experts say .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough , ” says Ms. Rapp-Hooper , who has just published the book “ Shields of the Republic , ” which looks at how America ’ s alliances contribute to its security .
“ There is a huge alliance renovation agenda to be undertaken no matter who our next leader is.
” Beyond America ’ s alliances , Ms. Rapp-Hooper says she would expect a President Biden to “ return to and try to renovate ” a number of international institutions and accords that President Trump has abandoned , as a way of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impose its more authoritarian vision .
Instead of quitting the World Health Organization and ceding it to China ’ s influence , for example , she would expect Mr. Biden to counter China from within .
Mr. Carafano agrees that international institutions have increasingly become the arena for powers like the U.S. and China to impose their values – but he says Mr. Trump has demonstrated an approach that differs from the post-World War II pattern .
“ International organizations are no longer about establishing international norms , ” he says , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great powers battle it out to expand their power.
” And whereas a President Biden would “ want to be at every table ” no matter the proven value of an organization , he says , President Trump would “ continue to use the whole quiver ” – sticking with useful forums , seeking to reform some , or leaving “ hopeless cases ” and establishing alternatives – to compete with China .
In any case , Mr. Korb of CAP says that whoever wins in November , simply squaring off against China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , like some new Cold War , won ’ t be an option .
“ China has made it clear they ’ re not going to make the political changes we once thought we could encourage them to make , but that doesn ’ t mean we can just cut all ties to them given how intertwined our economies are , ” Mr. Korb says .
“ We don ’ t have the flexibility with China we once had , ” he adds , “ and whoever is president will have to work @ @ @ @

“What has changed in the last few years is that increasingly American public opinion sees us in a long-term competition with China,” says Mira Rapp-Hooper, of the Council on Foreign Relations. That shift extends to concern over “the way the world order will be governed.”
But beyond how candidates respond to specific provocations from Beijing, some say China’s rise is forcing a reevaluation of America’s role in the world.
Mr. Trump may use sanctions more, while Mr. Biden would likely work more closely with Asian allies to counter Beijing. The two could also differ, experts say, on how they use international accords and institutions to challenge China’s vision of global governance.
Many analysts’ forecasts for the next four years include a continued chill with China. But what would that look like? How the U.S. confronts Beijing will depend on who resides in the White House come January.
No matter who wins in November, analysts say, the spiraling relations between the two superpowers are here for the foreseeable future. But that doesn’t mean that a Biden White House and a Trump White House would confront China in similar ways.
Months after President Donald Trump declared the U.S.-China relationship “the best it’s been in a long, long time,” the administration has changed its tune. On Tuesday, for example, the U.S. ordered the Chinese consulate in Houston closed, even as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised Britain’s recent actions to counter an increasingly assertive Beijing.
On TV stations across the battleground state of Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump has been running ads that depict former Vice President Joe Biden as weak on China.
There’s a smiling Mr. Biden clinking glasses with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and then there he is telling “folks” that “China is not the problem.”
Not to be outdone, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has also been running ads in swing states blasting the president for going soft on China – in particular on the coronavirus pandemic. One ad reminds viewers that Mr. Trump initially praised Mr. Xi for the “very good job” he was doing to control the outbreak.
Why We Wrote This Many analysts’ forecasts for the next four years include a continued chill with China. But what would that look like? How the U.S. confronts Beijing will depend on who resides in the White House come January.
Whether or not the ads actually sway any voters is an open question. But what the effort of the two candidates to out-tough each other on China seems to suggest is that, no matter who wins in November, the spiraling relations between the two superpowers are here for the foreseeable future.
Mr. Trump may use sanctions more, while Mr. Biden is likely to work more closely with Asian allies to counter China, some experts say. The former vice president, who has said he has spent more time with Mr. Xi than any other foreign leader – and so has a clearer window into his motivations – is also likely to try to maintain good enough relations with Beijing to work on global issues like climate change.
But the deterioration in U.S.-China relations that some now compare to the Cold War is part of a broad geopolitical shift that actually predates Mr. Trump’s arrival at the White House, others say – and will continue no matter who occupies the Oval Office.
“The shift [to a more adversarial relationship with China] has been bipartisan – it just happened to coincide with the election of Donald Trump,” says James Carafano, vice president of national security and foreign policy studies at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.
“Democrats were already just as down on China as Republicans, it’s just that Trump’s rhetoric matched where the country was already headed,” he adds. “Any debate is pretty much over, to a point where skepticism on China is demonstrably bipartisan.”
Indeed, just months after President Trump declared the relationship with China “the best it’s been in a long, long time,” the administration has taken a series of steps signaling an adversarial approach to China. On Tuesday the U.S. ordered the Chinese consulate in Houston closed, even as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to London to praise recent British actions targeting China – and called for the U.S. and Britain to go further together to counter an increasingly assertive Beijing.
Beyond who sounds tougher on job losses to China, or the specifics of how each candidate might respond to Chinese military provocations in the South China Sea, some say the rise of China is essentially forcing a reevaluation of America’s role in the world that is likely to surface in a variety of ways in the presidential campaign.
“China is the first great-power competitor to arise since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and so as one result China poses the question for us about the type of 21st century great power we are going to be,” says Mira Rapp-Hooper, senior fellow for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
Carolyn Kaster/AP/File View caption Hide caption Chinese leader Xi Jinping and then-Vice President Joe Biden walk down the red carpet during an arrival ceremony in Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland Sept. 24, 2015. Many analysts expect that Mr. Biden, if elected president in November, would seek to repair U.S. alliances in Asia.
Upgrades ahead?
China has played small parts in some presidential campaigns, Ms. Rapp-Hooper says – as in 1992, when the U.S. response to China in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests surfaced in candidate debates.
What is new for this campaign, she says, is how widely China is viewed negatively by the American electorate. “What has changed in the last few years is that increasingly American public opinion sees us in a long-term competition with China,” she adds. That shift extends to concern over “the way the world order will be governed.”
Ms. Rapp-Hooper does not agree, however, that broad mistrust means China policy is largely precast no matter who wins the White House.
On two key fronts, how a Biden White House confronts China would likely differ significantly from the Trump approach, she says: One is how the U.S. interacts with its Asian allies, and the other is how the U.S. envisions its involvement in international accords and institutions as a means of challenging China’s vision of global governance.
Based on Mr. Biden’s foreign-policy track record, Ms. Rapp-Hooper says she would expect the former vice president not just to “repair” but to “set about to renovate the alliance system for the 21st century.” Part of such a renewed focus would be “creating new strategies and institutions within the alliances to respond to concerns in non-military domains” such as cyberattacks and disinformation.
Some former national security officials now aligned with the Biden campaign have speculated that Mr. Xi would prefer Mr. Trump to win based on the assumption that a President Biden would rebuild America’s alliances.
Yet while Mr. Trump may have been labelled the anti-alliance president based on his questioning of their relevance and demands they pay their way, Mr. Carafano says it’s simply not accurate to conclude that America’s alliances, particularly in Asia, are in disrepair.
“The people saying relations with our Asian allies need repair are ignoring reality on the ground,” he says. “Look at U.S.-Australia relations – never stronger. U.S.-Japan? Never stronger. India has never been closer to the U.S.,” he adds, “and as for U.S.-South Korea relations, they’re not in trouble.”
Not everyone agrees.
“The way you treat allies is so important, and here’s Trump telling South Korea ‘You have to pay even more for the troops we have there,’ but what does that get you, really?” says Lawrence Korb, a former assistant secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan who is now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP) in Washington. “We’re doing pretty much the same thing with Japan.”
Even if Mr. Biden wins the White House, just returning to where relations with Asian allies were four years ago won’t be the answer, U.S.-China experts say.
“A simple restoration won’t be enough,” says Ms. Rapp-Hooper, who has just published the book “Shields of the Republic,” which looks at how America’s alliances contribute to its security. “There is a huge alliance renovation agenda to be undertaken no matter who our next leader is.”
New realities
Beyond America’s alliances, Ms. Rapp-Hooper says she would expect a President Biden to “return to and try to renovate” a number of international institutions and accords that President Trump has abandoned, as a way of countering China’s emboldened efforts to impose its more authoritarian vision. Instead of quitting the World Health Organization and ceding it to China’s influence, for example, she would expect Mr. Biden to counter China from within.
Mr. Carafano agrees that international institutions have increasingly become the arena for powers like the U.S. and China to impose their values – but he says Mr. Trump has demonstrated an approach that differs from the post-World War II pattern.
“International organizations are no longer about establishing international norms,” he says, “now they have largely become places where great powers battle it out to expand their power.”
And whereas a President Biden would “want to be at every table” no matter the proven value of an organization, he says, President Trump would “continue to use the whole quiver” – sticking with useful forums, seeking to reform some, or leaving “hopeless cases” and establishing alternatives – to compete with China.
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In any case, Mr. Korb of CAP says that whoever wins in November, simply squaring off against China and dividing the world into separate camps, like some new Cold War, won’t be an option.
“China has made it clear they’re not going to make the political changes we once thought we could encourage them to make, but that doesn’t mean we can just cut all ties to them given how intertwined our economies are,” Mr. Korb says. “We don’t have the flexibility with China we once had,” he adds, “and whoever is president will have to work with that.”


csmonitor--2020-07-22--Next pandemic threat to economy: A wave of evictions

“ They said they ’ re going to be sending out eviction notices at the first of the month , ” he says .
“ I told them I ’ ll try – if I can set up a payment program.
” For renters in Wisconsin and beyond , a lot now rides on discussions in Congress about a new round of coronavirus relief for the economy .
In Milwaukee , on the ninth floor of a downtown apartment building , Edward Smith was alarmed recently to get a notice that he owed more than $ 3,000 in rent .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and former paratrooper , says he fell so far behind because he had to pay funeral expenses for his father , who tested positive for the coronavirus .
Some states have seen temporary bans on eviction expire , and this week a federal eviction moratorium affecting about one-quarter of America ’ s rental properties is set to end .
An estimated 11 million or more U.S. households may face eviction in coming months .
Even in good times , 2 million or more households can face eviction in America in any given year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scrape by on margins too narrow to absorb even modest difficulties .
Now , the coronavirus pandemic , disrupting the income of legions , could create a tsunami of evictions .
The first of the month had come and gone , and now in early July the man with the clipboard arrived at the apartments on North Hopkins Street , a plain two-story brick building where grass and weeds grow scraggly along the street and broken furniture lies abandoned around the dumpster out back .
To tenants he was a figure of doom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stuck a folded eviction notice in the door of Apartment 14 , two units down from where Sorea Appling lived .
It wasn ’ t long before Apartment 14 ’ s tenant , and the woman in Apartment 5 downstairs , had found new places to live .
“ They say once you get your door knocked on by the man with the clipboard , you might as well leave , ” says Ms. Appling , a public school janitor who has been out of work since March and worries that she might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shared by renters across the nation .
For several months during the coronavirus pandemic a combination of tenant grit , landlord forbearance , and federal aid has helped people stay in their homes .
State or local bans on evictions have in many cases offered a reprieve .
Now those eviction bans are phasing out along with key government support for unemployed workers .
With the economy far from recovered , some of the steepest declines in income have been faced by low-income renters like Ms. Appling .
By some estimates , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million households evicted in the next four months .
“ People are going to go over a cliff , ” says Mary Cunningham , a housing expert at the nonprofit Urban Institute , and co-author of a new analysis on the problem .
“ We ’ ve seen this coming .
We ’ ve been racing toward it with the clock running out and , so far , Congress hasn ’ t responded.
” Analogies like “ cliff ” or “ tsunami ” are apt .
As the Senate convenes this week to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ question is whether the resulting bill will include provisions to help at-risk renters .
The expiring supports – from the CARES Act passed by Congress in April – include an eviction moratorium for the roughly one-quarter of rental properties that get federal backing , plus supplemental unemployment benefits that have so far buoyed up millions of households .
Although some states have moved to extend eviction bans , the potential for mass evictions on an unprecedented scale looms .
Economists say such an eviction wave could deepen poverty , widen racial inequality , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy that will take years to repair .
“ The issue of inability to pay , poverty , and unemployment – that existed pre-COVID-19 , ” says Raphael Ramos , a lawyer with Legal Action Wisconsin and head of its Eviction Defense Project .
“ The difference between now and then is that the pandemic has shifted the line of poverty .
There are more people at risk than before.
” Indeed , the coronavirus is amplifying a problem that has long festered in Milwaukee and other cities .
Housing advocates say evictions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chronic problems like low-paying jobs , too little affordable housing , and public transportation systems that are inadequate to take people to where the work is .
Renters often scrape by on margins too narrow to absorb even modest difficulties .
“ A good part of our clients are not in 40-hour jobs , but in a patchwork of jobs – babysitter , bus driver , hair cutters , ” says Peter Koneazny , litigation director at the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee , where calls from renters appealing for help have skyrocketed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that .
It ’ s a kind of constant struggle for many people .
Their head is barely above water , most of them.
” Evictions are sometimes the result of cascading circumstances .
Iyonna Hall-Davis was working as a certified nursing assistant in a Milwaukee suburb , often for 16 hours at a time , when she started having trouble with her car , an old 2007 Cadillac .
Taking public transportation to work was “ not an option , ” she says .
“ No bus came near it.
” Her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her hours , and she fell behind on her rent , Ms. Hall-Davis says .
At the end of February a payroll check that would have covered what she owed arrived late , forcing her eviction .
She ’ s been struggling ever since , moving with her 3-year-old son among family and friends and waiting for her unemployment application to be acted on .
She ’ s been waiting 10 weeks .
She hopes to use the money to rent a new apartment and buy another car that can take her to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ll get my life back together , ” she says .
To stave off the potential crisis , affordable housing advocates are pushing for one or more of the following from Congress : a comprehensive federal ban on evictions to replace the diminishing patchwork of protections currently in place , rental assistance for tenants affected by the pandemic , targeted help for landlords , continuation of the supplemental unemployment benefits at some level , and help for local governments , which are expected to be swamped by eviction notices once the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are in the HEROES Act , a $ 3 trillion package passed by House Democrats in May .
Republicans in the Senate , however , say the Democrats ’ measure is far too costly .
Some housing groups are optimistic Congress will act .
“ It ’ s brink negotiations , ” says Bob Pinnegar , president and CEO of the National Apartment Association , which represents the rental housing industry .
He expects an acceptable package will emerge .
Affordable housing advocates are more optimistic about local initiatives .
The “ cancel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notched a victory recently when Ithaca , New York , passed a resolution calling on the state to cancel rent for residents and small businesses for three months .
Massachusetts is the latest state to renew a pandemic-related ban on evictions .
Its moratorium , which had been set to expire in August , will now stretch through the fall , due to an order Tuesday by Republican Gov .
Charlie Baker .
In Wisconsin , by contrast , a two-month ban set by Democratic Gov .
Tony Evers expired May 26 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court threw out Governor Evers ’ coronavirus order as unconstitutional and mandated that new policies go through a legislative rule-making process .
Mr. Ramos and others saw evictions in Wisconsin jump 40 % over the previous year in the first week after the state eviction moratorium ended .
They are now running 14 % higher than last year .
“ There are a lot of people in this building who are under the threat of eviction , ” says Ms. Appling , a slender woman with close-cropped blond hair and a silver crucifix @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March , these people haven ’ t been able to go to work.
” Eviction has big ramifications for families .
It makes it much harder to rent from other landlords , pushes families into substandard and more crowded housing , and has been shown to have negative effects on everything from physical and mental health to education for children who have to move from school to school , says Emily Benfer , a law professor at Wake Forest University and co-creator of the COVID-19 housing policy scorecard set up by the Eviction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University in New Jersey .
Pushing people into more crowded , substandard housing is problematic anytime .
Doing it in the midst of rising coronavirus cases makes the potential health fallout much worse , says Ms. Cunningham of the Urban Institute .
“ It ’ s really reckless during a pandemic to have people lose their housing when we ’ re all trying to socially distance.
” Evictions already hit people of color disproportionately .
In Boston , a report last month from City Life and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ third of evictions happened in predominantly Black neighborhoods , even though only 18 % of the rental housing was in those neighborhoods .
That ’ s partly a result of poverty and low income , the researchers said , but the most telling predictor was the neighborhood ’ s racial composition .
In the pandemic , people of color are more vulnerable because they ’ re more likely to work the low-wage jobs most at risk during the pandemic , such as hospitality and retail positions , where people can ’ t work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not clear how many of those service jobs will come back as the economic recovery shows signs of slowing .
Among Americans in general , the problem of eviction is huge , affecting about 2.3 million households in a year , according to the Eviction Lab .
In the next four months , the figure could hit more than 11 million , according to a new data analysis tool by global advisory firm Stout Risius Ross LLC .
In Milwaukee , on the ninth floor of a downtown apartment building , Edward Smith @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he owed more than $ 3,000 in rent .
Mr. Smith , a disabled Army veteran and former paratrooper , says he fell so far behind because he had to pay funeral expenses for his father , who died in May at a nursing home in the Chicago suburbs .
Mr. Smith says his father , who was 90 , had tested positive for the coronavirus .
“ I had to help bury him , ” he says .
Mr. Smith , a tall , friendly man who wears an American flag @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the building ’ s management after receiving the letter .
“ They said they ’ re going to be sending out eviction notices at the first of the month , ” he says .
“ I told them I ’ ll try – if I can set up a payment program.
” But he ’ s worried .
He ’ s applied for rental assistance .
Wisconsin is spending $ 25 million of federal COVID-19 relief money to help tenants avoid evictions .
The problem is that many renters don ’ t know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wonder what happens when the money runs out .
In the meantime , many small landlords , too , are on the financial brink , unable to withstand a long-term dive in rental income .
Yet some have shown leniency because of COVID-19 .
“ The mom and pop landlords are doing what they can to keep good tenants , ” says Lisa Owens , executive director of City Life/Vida Urbana , a tenant advocacy group in Boston .
Ms. Appling , the school janitor , was astonished to hear from a friend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month ’ s rent .
Moreover , many landlords know that tenants can apply for rental assistance .
They are willing to wait .
But not all landlords are so lenient , and as Ms. Appling has observed , evictions can happen suddenly and ruthlessly .
She ’ s been spared , but only for now .
Furloughed from her job on May 4 , she ’ s been able to borrow enough from relatives to pay her $ 525-a-month rent .
And yet there ’ s a limit to what she can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unemployment benefits but has received nothing , even after months of waiting .
She doesn ’ t know when she ’ ll be called back to work .
“ I ’ m good for this month , ” she says hopefully .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .

“They said they’re going to be sending out eviction notices at the first of the month,” he says. “I told them I’ll try – if I can set up a payment program.” For renters in Wisconsin and beyond, a lot now rides on discussions in Congress about a new round of coronavirus relief for the economy.
In Milwaukee, on the ninth floor of a downtown apartment building, Edward Smith was alarmed recently to get a notice that he owed more than $3,000 in rent. Mr. Smith, a disabled Army veteran and former paratrooper, says he fell so far behind because he had to pay funeral expenses for his father, who tested positive for the coronavirus.
Government aid for individuals during the pandemic was speedy but also limited in its duration. The expiration of eviction bans is a test of whether the U.S. will let a health crisis also become a housing crisis.
Some states have seen temporary bans on eviction expire, and this week a federal eviction moratorium affecting about one-quarter of America’s rental properties is set to end. An estimated 11 million or more U.S. households may face eviction in coming months.
Even in good times, 2 million or more households can face eviction in America in any given year. Low-income renters, especially, often scrape by on margins too narrow to absorb even modest difficulties. Now, the coronavirus pandemic, disrupting the income of legions, could create a tsunami of evictions.
The first of the month had come and gone, and now in early July the man with the clipboard arrived at the apartments on North Hopkins Street, a plain two-story brick building where grass and weeds grow scraggly along the street and broken furniture lies abandoned around the dumpster out back.
To tenants he was a figure of doom. On the second floor, he stuck a folded eviction notice in the door of Apartment 14, two units down from where Sorea Appling lived. It wasn’t long before Apartment 14’s tenant, and the woman in Apartment 5 downstairs, had found new places to live.
“They say once you get your door knocked on by the man with the clipboard, you might as well leave,” says Ms. Appling, a public school janitor who has been out of work since March and worries that she might be next.
Why We Wrote This Government aid for individuals during the pandemic was speedy but also limited in its duration. The expiration of eviction bans is a test of whether the U.S. will let a health crisis also become a housing crisis.
Her worries are increasingly shared by renters across the nation. For several months during the coronavirus pandemic a combination of tenant grit, landlord forbearance, and federal aid has helped people stay in their homes. State or local bans on evictions have in many cases offered a reprieve.
Now those eviction bans are phasing out along with key government support for unemployed workers. With the economy far from recovered, some of the steepest declines in income have been faced by low-income renters like Ms. Appling. By some estimates, the United States could see more than 11 million households evicted in the next four months.
“People are going to go over a cliff,” says Mary Cunningham, a housing expert at the nonprofit Urban Institute, and co-author of a new analysis on the problem. “We’ve seen this coming. We’ve been racing toward it with the clock running out and, so far, Congress hasn’t responded.”
Analogies like “cliff” or “tsunami” are apt. As the Senate convenes this week to consider new coronavirus relief, a key question is whether the resulting bill will include provisions to help at-risk renters. The expiring supports – from the CARES Act passed by Congress in April – include an eviction moratorium for the roughly one-quarter of rental properties that get federal backing, plus supplemental unemployment benefits that have so far buoyed up millions of households.
Although some states have moved to extend eviction bans, the potential for mass evictions on an unprecedented scale looms.
Economists say such an eviction wave could deepen poverty, widen racial inequality, and create severe new damage to the economy that will take years to repair.
“The issue of inability to pay, poverty, and unemployment – that existed pre-COVID-19,” says Raphael Ramos, a lawyer with Legal Action Wisconsin and head of its Eviction Defense Project. “The difference between now and then is that the pandemic has shifted the line of poverty. There are more people at risk than before.”
“Not in 40-hour jobs”
Indeed, the coronavirus is amplifying a problem that has long festered in Milwaukee and other cities. Housing advocates say evictions are a symptom of a combination of chronic problems like low-paying jobs, too little affordable housing, and public transportation systems that are inadequate to take people to where the work is. Renters often scrape by on margins too narrow to absorb even modest difficulties.
“A good part of our clients are not in 40-hour jobs, but in a patchwork of jobs – babysitter, bus driver, hair cutters,” says Peter Koneazny, litigation director at the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, where calls from renters appealing for help have skyrocketed. “You have a lot of that. It’s a kind of constant struggle for many people. Their head is barely above water, most of them.”
Evictions are sometimes the result of cascading circumstances. Iyonna Hall-Davis was working as a certified nursing assistant in a Milwaukee suburb, often for 16 hours at a time, when she started having trouble with her car, an old 2007 Cadillac. Taking public transportation to work was “not an option,” she says. “No bus came near it.”
Her transportation troubles led her employer to cut her hours, and she fell behind on her rent, Ms. Hall-Davis says. At the end of February a payroll check that would have covered what she owed arrived late, forcing her eviction. She’s been struggling ever since, moving with her 3-year-old son among family and friends and waiting for her unemployment application to be acted on. She’s been waiting 10 weeks. She hopes to use the money to rent a new apartment and buy another car that can take her to work.
“Whenever that comes, I’ll get my life back together,” she says.
Options for Congress
To stave off the potential crisis, affordable housing advocates are pushing for one or more of the following from Congress: a comprehensive federal ban on evictions to replace the diminishing patchwork of protections currently in place, rental assistance for tenants affected by the pandemic, targeted help for landlords, continuation of the supplemental unemployment benefits at some level, and help for local governments, which are expected to be swamped by eviction notices once the moratoriums end.
Many of those provisions are in the HEROES Act, a $3 trillion package passed by House Democrats in May. Republicans in the Senate, however, say the Democrats’ measure is far too costly.
Some housing groups are optimistic Congress will act. “It’s brink negotiations,” says Bob Pinnegar, president and CEO of the National Apartment Association, which represents the rental housing industry. He expects an acceptable package will emerge.
Affordable housing advocates are more optimistic about local initiatives.
The “cancel rent” movement, for example, notched a victory recently when Ithaca, New York, passed a resolution calling on the state to cancel rent for residents and small businesses for three months.
Massachusetts is the latest state to renew a pandemic-related ban on evictions. Its moratorium, which had been set to expire in August, will now stretch through the fall, due to an order Tuesday by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker.
In Wisconsin, by contrast, a two-month ban set by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers expired May 26. That month, the Republican-majority state Supreme Court threw out Governor Evers’ coronavirus order as unconstitutional and mandated that new policies go through a legislative rule-making process.
Mr. Ramos and others saw evictions in Wisconsin jump 40% over the previous year in the first week after the state eviction moratorium ended. They are now running 14% higher than last year.
“There are a lot of people in this building who are under the threat of eviction,” says Ms. Appling, a slender woman with close-cropped blond hair and a silver crucifix around her neck. “Ever since March, these people haven’t been able to go to work.”
For families, wide ripple effects
Eviction has big ramifications for families. It makes it much harder to rent from other landlords, pushes families into substandard and more crowded housing, and has been shown to have negative effects on everything from physical and mental health to education for children who have to move from school to school, says Emily Benfer, a law professor at Wake Forest University and co-creator of the COVID-19 housing policy scorecard set up by the Eviction Lab, a research project at Princeton University in New Jersey.
Pushing people into more crowded, substandard housing is problematic anytime. Doing it in the midst of rising coronavirus cases makes the potential health fallout much worse, says Ms. Cunningham of the Urban Institute. “It’s really reckless during a pandemic to have people lose their housing when we’re all trying to socially distance.”
Evictions already hit people of color disproportionately. In Boston, a report last month from City Life and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that in nonsubsidized housing, more than a third of evictions happened in predominantly Black neighborhoods, even though only 18% of the rental housing was in those neighborhoods. That’s partly a result of poverty and low income, the researchers said, but the most telling predictor was the neighborhood’s racial composition.
In the pandemic, people of color are more vulnerable because they’re more likely to work the low-wage jobs most at risk during the pandemic, such as hospitality and retail positions, where people can’t work from home. And it’s not clear how many of those service jobs will come back as the economic recovery shows signs of slowing.
Among Americans in general, the problem of eviction is huge, affecting about 2.3 million households in a year, according to the Eviction Lab. In the next four months, the figure could hit more than 11 million, according to a new data analysis tool by global advisory firm Stout Risius Ross LLC.
Richard Mertens View caption Hide caption Edward Smith sits in his one-bedroom apartment in downtown Milwaukee on June 17, 2020. Mr. Smith, an Army veteran, furnished his apartment with the help of the Veterans Administration. But he's fallen behind on his rent and worries he might be evicted.
In Milwaukee, on the ninth floor of a downtown apartment building, Edward Smith was alarmed recently to get a notice that he owed more than $3,000 in rent. Mr. Smith, a disabled Army veteran and former paratrooper, says he fell so far behind because he had to pay funeral expenses for his father, who died in May at a nursing home in the Chicago suburbs. Mr. Smith says his father, who was 90, had tested positive for the coronavirus. “I had to help bury him,” he says.
Mr. Smith, a tall, friendly man who wears an American flag face mask, says he talked to the building’s management after receiving the letter. “They said they’re going to be sending out eviction notices at the first of the month,” he says. “I told them I’ll try – if I can set up a payment program.” But he’s worried. He’s applied for rental assistance.
Lifelines in a storm
Wisconsin is spending $25 million of federal COVID-19 relief money to help tenants avoid evictions. The problem is that many renters don’t know about the assistance. And housing advocates wonder what happens when the money runs out.
In the meantime, many small landlords, too, are on the financial brink, unable to withstand a long-term dive in rental income. Yet some have shown leniency because of COVID-19.
“The mom and pop landlords are doing what they can to keep good tenants,” says Lisa Owens, executive director of City Life/Vida Urbana, a tenant advocacy group in Boston.
Ms. Appling, the school janitor, was astonished to hear from a friend that another landlord had forgiven tenants a month’s rent. Moreover, many landlords know that tenants can apply for rental assistance. They are willing to wait. But not all landlords are so lenient, and as Ms. Appling has observed, evictions can happen suddenly and ruthlessly.
She’s been spared, but only for now. Furloughed from her job on May 4, she’s been able to borrow enough from relatives to pay her $525-a-month rent. And yet there’s a limit to what she can borrow. She’s applied for unemployment benefits but has received nothing, even after months of waiting. She doesn’t know when she’ll be called back to work.
“I’m good for this month,” she says hopefully.
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Laurent Belsie reported from Waltham, Massachusetts.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.


csmonitor--2020-07-22--More parents are home schooling. How that will change public education.

“ Right now each is in a box , home schooling and public schooling , ” says Joseph Murphy , an education professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville , Tennessee , and author of “ Homeschooling in America.
” “ I don ’ t think the future is going to be that way .
I think it will be more like an open playing field.
” The likelihood of a sizable uptick in home schooling families – along with families experimenting with other forms of remote education – means many parents are rethinking how schooling can operate , and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is delivered in brick and mortar schools in future , some educators say .
She ’ s not alone .
A poll of public school parents found that only 27 % of parents felt safe sending their children back to school in August or September due to the coronavirus pandemic .
And a recent survey of 1,000 parents found 47 % were considering home schooling for the upcoming school year .
Teri Carey never expected to teach her children at home .
But after weeks of researching how to home-school , she has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ son from his local public school , and started math , science , and history lessons with her 7-year-old .
Teri Carey never expected to teach her children at home .
But after weeks of researching how to home-school , she has now selected instruction materials , withdrawn her son from his local public school , and started math , science , and history lessons with her 7-year-old .
“ Obviously COVID had a lot to do with it ” says Ms. Carey , from Maynard , Massachusetts , who will also care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ However , it was less about contracting COVID and the fear of getting sick – that was a part of it – but it was more the atmosphere he ’ d be learning in , ” with students and staff wearing masks , desks spaced apart , and limited movement around the building .
“ We thought it would be a better learning environment at home , ” where he will likely feel less nervous , she says .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likelihood of a sizable uptick in home schooling families this year due to pandemic concerns , along with families experimenting with other forms of remote education , means many parents are rethinking approaches to school .
Some of them wonder if such options create more flexibility for their schedules , offer more opportunity to discuss cultural heritage , and better accommodate different learning styles .
Such a shift could impact how education is delivered in brick and mortar schools going forward , some educators say .
“ Right now each is in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I don ’ t think the future is going to be that way .
I think it will be more like an open playing field , ” says Joseph Murphy , an education professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville , Tennessee , and author of “ Homeschooling in America.
” He suggests there may be greater blending of home schooling and public education in the future .
A poll of public school parents conducted in June by the American Enterprise Institute ( AEI ) found that only 27 % of parents felt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in August or September due to the coronavirus pandemic .
A recent survey of 1,000 parents commissioned by Varsity Tutors , a tutoring company , found 47 % were considering home schooling for the upcoming school year .
Inquiries with state and local home-school alliances have spiked .
Public school districts receive funding per pupil enrolled , based on formulas from federal , state , and local sources , says Professor Murphy .
The disruption to school finances from people withdrawing students will range from “ minimal to annoying to problematic depending on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he says .
Just over 3 % of students were home-schooled in 2016 – the most recent year data is available – an increase from 1.7 % of students in 1999 , according to the National Center for Education Statistics .
Susan Wise Bauer , a home schooling advocate and author , expects a large jump in interest in the short-term , followed by the eventual return of most students to traditional school settings and a “ small , but substantial bump up in the number of home-schoolers.
” She says parents who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and mortar schools wanting to hold deeper conversations with teachers about their children ’ s education .
In Boulder , Colorado , Emelie Griffith withdrew her 10-year-old twin daughters from private school and started home schooling this summer because their school ’ s Zoom calls did not engage her kids and they fell behind .
She and her husband work full time , but she has adapted by conducting business while her daughters focus on projects .
The family often combines school with nature hikes and camping .
“ It ’ s allowing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exciting in a new environment , ” she says .
In recent months , conversation about at-home options for school has exploded on social media and in parenting forums .
Parents are seeking matches with other families for home-school pods , posting ads for tutors and public school teachers , and facing questions about whether those who can afford to hire extra help are exacerbating already deep education inequities in the United States .
Proponents of home education say the movement , which is predominantly populated by white students , has grown to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hispanic families .
In 2016 , Hispanic children made up 26 % of the home-schooled children in the U.S. , and Black children consisted of 8 % of those home-schooled .
Advocates say today ’ s home-school families also come from a range of religious and nonreligious backgrounds , though the roots of the movement mainly lie with conservative Christian families .
The recent AEI survey found that 34 % of white parents and 19 % of nonwhite parents say they feel comfortable sending their children back to school in August or September @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safe to send their children back to school by almost twice the rate of low-income families .
Muffy Mendoza from Pittsburgh withdrew her three sons from public school six years ago , after serving on her school ’ s PTA and realizing that the schools “ didn ’ t have a great record of educating Black children.
” Ms. Mendoza tag-teams home schooling with her husband so they both maintain employment and a parent is always present with the kids .
She includes a greater depth of African history and lets her children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She posts resources about home schooling and unschooling on her website BrownMamas.com and has seen a rise in inquiries and traffic to her site since the pandemic shutdowns .
Recent racial justice protests have also sparked interest in home schooling due to concerns about discrimination and systemic racism in schools .
For Black parents in particular , Ms. Mendoza says the switch to home schooling can feel relieving .
“ The first thing I noticed once all of my children had been removed from school was the peace I felt in my household @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if there are any Black mothers who are reading this , I know you know what I ’ m talking about .
I ’ m talking about the constant calls that come from the school .
I ’ m talking about the combativeness of getting assignments done .
I ’ m talking about the arguments that happen as a result from the so-called behavior problems that your son or daughter is experiencing at school .
The first thing you will notice with home schooling is there ’ s no more of that.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California , says that home schooling her children gives them opportunities to see their Indigenous and Latinx heritage represented in positive ways , which was lacking in their public schools .
( Ms. Sanchez prefers to use the gender-neutral term Latinx . )
“ It wasn ’ t until I was an adult that I started to learn about the incredible agriculture practices that existed in Mexico , or the hundreds of Indigenous languages spoken .
I really believe that for our kids to feel accepted and empowered and that they belong , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a positive light , ” she says .
Ms. Sanchez formed the Unidos Homeschool Cooperative about five years ago , and the tightknit group of families is able to provide child care for each other as parents both work and home-school their children .
The Cooperative expanded this summer from serving six families in person to enrolling more than 100 families for virtual discussions of a social justice program developed by Chicana M ( other ) work , a network of scholars and mothers .
Parents already home schooling when the pandemic hit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but some are shifting to online activities and making it work .
“ I love it , ” says Dave Miranda of his home-school involvement .
The father from Lexington , Massachusetts , owns a consulting business and works with his wife , who also owns her own business , to home-school their 11-year-old son .
“ Too often it ’ s vacations or weekend outings when a family does things together as a unit .
Why not learn together ?
I think it ’ s great to see that we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ getting something out of what he ’ s doing.
” Home schooling has come under recent criticism , with Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Bartholet calling for a “ presumptive ban ” due to lack of regulation in the U.S. and concerns about child abuse and quality of instruction .
She argues instead for parents to “ demonstrate that they have a legitimate reason to home-school.
” Advocates counter that home-schooled students are at no greater risk and point to research that they say shows positive academic , social , and professional outcomes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the first few weeks have been encouraging .
She started early to help herself and her son adjust to the new routine , and they ’ re enjoying following his interests , like reading about outer space .
“ Public education is really ingrained in my brain and I really believe in it , ” she says .
“ I was very intimidated by home schooling , but once I did the research , and it took a while , I saw how manageable it was.
” Editor ’ s note : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spelling of the organization Chicana Motherwork .
As a public service , all our coronavirus coverage is free .
No paywall .

“Right now each is in a box, home schooling and public schooling,” says Joseph Murphy, an education professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and author of “Homeschooling in America.” “I don’t think the future is going to be that way. I think it will be more like an open playing field.”
The likelihood of a sizable uptick in home schooling families – along with families experimenting with other forms of remote education – means many parents are rethinking how schooling can operate, and that’s likely to impact how education is delivered in brick and mortar schools in future, some educators say.
One effect of COVID-19: Families are experimenting with different forms of schooling, and rethinking how education is conducted. That shift in mindset may impact how schools – and society – educate moving forward.
She’s not alone. A poll of public school parents found that only 27% of parents felt safe sending their children back to school in August or September due to the coronavirus pandemic. And a recent survey of 1,000 parents found 47% were considering home schooling for the upcoming school year.
Teri Carey never expected to teach her children at home. But after weeks of researching how to home-school, she has now selected several curriculums, withdrawn her son from his local public school, and started math, science, and history lessons with her 7-year-old.
Teri Carey never expected to teach her children at home. But after weeks of researching how to home-school, she has now selected instruction materials, withdrawn her son from his local public school, and started math, science, and history lessons with her 7-year-old.
“Obviously COVID had a lot to do with it” says Ms. Carey, from Maynard, Massachusetts, who will also care for her toddler this year. “However, it was less about contracting COVID and the fear of getting sick – that was a part of it – but it was more the atmosphere he’d be learning in,” with students and staff wearing masks, desks spaced apart, and limited movement around the building.
“We thought it would be a better learning environment at home,” where he will likely feel less nervous, she says.
Why We Wrote This One effect of COVID-19: Families are experimenting with different forms of schooling, and rethinking how education is conducted. That shift in mindset may impact how schools – and society – educate moving forward.
Editor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.
The likelihood of a sizable uptick in home schooling families this year due to pandemic concerns, along with families experimenting with other forms of remote education, means many parents are rethinking approaches to school. Some of them wonder if such options create more flexibility for their schedules, offer more opportunity to discuss cultural heritage, and better accommodate different learning styles. Such a shift could impact how education is delivered in brick and mortar schools going forward, some educators say.
“Right now each is in a box, home schooling and public schooling. I don’t think the future is going to be that way. I think it will be more like an open playing field,” says Joseph Murphy, an education professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and author of “Homeschooling in America.” He suggests there may be greater blending of home schooling and public education in the future.
A poll of public school parents conducted in June by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) found that only 27% of parents felt safe sending their children back to school in August or September due to the coronavirus pandemic. A recent survey of 1,000 parents commissioned by Varsity Tutors, a tutoring company, found 47% were considering home schooling for the upcoming school year. Inquiries with state and local home-school alliances have spiked.
Public school districts receive funding per pupil enrolled, based on formulas from federal, state, and local sources, says Professor Murphy. The disruption to school finances from people withdrawing students will range from “minimal to annoying to problematic depending on how many kids go out,” he says.
Just over 3% of students were home-schooled in 2016 – the most recent year data is available – an increase from 1.7% of students in 1999, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Susan Wise Bauer, a home schooling advocate and author, expects a large jump in interest in the short-term, followed by the eventual return of most students to traditional school settings and a “small, but substantial bump up in the number of home-schoolers.” She says parents who home-school their children will return to brick and mortar schools wanting to hold deeper conversations with teachers about their children’s education.
In Boulder, Colorado, Emelie Griffith withdrew her 10-year-old twin daughters from private school and started home schooling this summer because their school’s Zoom calls did not engage her kids and they fell behind. She and her husband work full time, but she has adapted by conducting business while her daughters focus on projects. The family often combines school with nature hikes and camping. “It’s allowing us that flexibility while still keeping things exciting in a new environment,” she says.
An explosion of conversations
In recent months, conversation about at-home options for school has exploded on social media and in parenting forums. Parents are seeking matches with other families for home-school pods, posting ads for tutors and public school teachers, and facing questions about whether those who can afford to hire extra help are exacerbating already deep education inequities in the United States.
Proponents of home education say the movement, which is predominantly populated by white students, has grown to include an increasing number of Black and Hispanic families. In 2016, Hispanic children made up 26% of the home-schooled children in the U.S., and Black children consisted of 8% of those home-schooled. Advocates say today’s home-school families also come from a range of religious and nonreligious backgrounds, though the roots of the movement mainly lie with conservative Christian families.
The recent AEI survey found that 34% of white parents and 19% of nonwhite parents say they feel comfortable sending their children back to school in August or September. High-income families also feel it is safe to send their children back to school by almost twice the rate of low-income families.
Muffy Mendoza from Pittsburgh withdrew her three sons from public school six years ago, after serving on her school’s PTA and realizing that the schools “didn’t have a great record of educating Black children.”
Ms. Mendoza tag-teams home schooling with her husband so they both maintain employment and a parent is always present with the kids. She includes a greater depth of African history and lets her children’s curiosity guide their learning. She posts resources about home schooling and unschooling on her website BrownMamas.com and has seen a rise in inquiries and traffic to her site since the pandemic shutdowns.
Recent racial justice protests have also sparked interest in home schooling due to concerns about discrimination and systemic racism in schools. For Black parents in particular, Ms. Mendoza says the switch to home schooling can feel relieving.
“The first thing I noticed once all of my children had been removed from school was the peace I felt in my household,” she says. “And if there are any Black mothers who are reading this, I know you know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the constant calls that come from the school. I’m talking about the combativeness of getting assignments done. I’m talking about the arguments that happen as a result from the so-called behavior problems that your son or daughter is experiencing at school. The first thing you will notice with home schooling is there’s no more of that.”
Greater opportunities
Marlha Sanchez, from Santa Ana, California, says that home schooling her children gives them opportunities to see their Indigenous and Latinx heritage represented in positive ways, which was lacking in their public schools. (Ms. Sanchez prefers to use the gender-neutral term Latinx.) “It wasn’t until I was an adult that I started to learn about the incredible agriculture practices that existed in Mexico, or the hundreds of Indigenous languages spoken. I really believe that for our kids to feel accepted and empowered and that they belong, they need to see our history in a positive light,” she says.
Ms. Sanchez formed the Unidos Homeschool Cooperative about five years ago, and the tightknit group of families is able to provide child care for each other as parents both work and home-school their children. The Cooperative expanded this summer from serving six families in person to enrolling more than 100 families for virtual discussions of a social justice program developed by Chicana M(other)work, a network of scholars and mothers.
Parents already home schooling when the pandemic hit have experienced disruptions to extracurricular activities, but some are shifting to online activities and making it work. “I love it,” says Dave Miranda of his home-school involvement. The father from Lexington, Massachusetts, owns a consulting business and works with his wife, who also owns her own business, to home-school their 11-year-old son. “Too often it’s vacations or weekend outings when a family does things together as a unit. Why not learn together? I think it’s great to see that we’re all learning and we’re all getting something out of what he’s doing.”
Home schooling has come under recent criticism, with Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Bartholet calling for a “presumptive ban” due to lack of regulation in the U.S. and concerns about child abuse and quality of instruction. She argues instead for parents to “demonstrate that they have a legitimate reason to home-school.” Advocates counter that home-schooled students are at no greater risk and point to research that they say shows positive academic, social, and professional outcomes for home-schooled students.
For Ms. Carey, the first few weeks have been encouraging. She started early to help herself and her son adjust to the new routine, and they’re enjoying following his interests, like reading about outer space.
“Public education is really ingrained in my brain and I really believe in it,” she says. “I was very intimidated by home schooling, but once I did the research, and it took a while, I saw how manageable it was.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the organization Chicana M(other)work. As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall.