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Education

Young voices: Two kids explain how the pandemic changed their lives

Penny Davis raises her hand during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Nolan Waters takes a quiz during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Nolan Waters works on a project during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Nolan Waters (left) and Chloe Mattice (right) work on an assignment during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Trisha Tanner, fifth-grade teacher, gives instructions to her students during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Learning remediation costs
Trisha Tanner, fifth-grade teacher, gives instructions to her students during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Trisha Tanner, fifth-grade teacher, gives instructions during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Penny Davis takes a quiz during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Nolan Waters takes a quiz during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Penny Davis raises her hand during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Trisha Tanner, fifth-grade teacher, helps students Nolan Waters with a quiz during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Penny Davis takes a quiz during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Trisha Tanner, fifth-grade teacher, helps students Nolan Waters with a quiz during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Penny Davis raises her hand during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Nolan Waters takes a quiz during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Penny Davis raises her hand during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Trisha Tanner's fifth-grade class takes a quiz on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Trisha Tanner, fifth-grade teacher, gives instructions to her students during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Penny Davis takes a quiz during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
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Penny Davis raises her hand during class on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at Hickory Hills Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. Marietta City Schools, like schools across the country, are working to overcome learning loss caused by the pandemic. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
By Ty Tagami
Dec 28, 2022

So far, the story of COVID-19 has been told mostly by adults.

Children have rarely had a chance to shape the narrative, yet they will carry it into the future.

They will tell the next generation what really happened.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently visited Trisha Tanner’s classroom in Marietta. The goal was to learn how pandemic disruptions had undermined learning, but a different story emerged.

Two fifth-grade students at Hickory Hills Elementary, Penny Davis and Nolan Waters, did talk about the challenges of attending school online and about how they “catched up” when they were back in person.

But the cousins also described how the adults in their world — their parents and teachers — helped them, and also how the duo helped each other.

They shared how the pandemic delivered them to the same home and classroom, and how it bent their life stories into a new arc.

About the Author

Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.

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