I live in a large U.S. city. For this discussion I'll include the metropolitan area which has a total population of roughly 2.5 million. The schools closed in the Spring of 2020 - just as the disease was first spreading. In the Fall of 2020 they were partially open - kids would go to school 2-3 days per week. By Spring of 2021 they were completely back at school though there was a mask requirement. That's the state we've been in since. So in total we had 3-4 months of no in-person school. Certainly not the 3 years the commenter you're replying to has claimed - as you pointed out this pandemic hasn't even hit the two year mark yet!
It's been the norm for some time to have in-person classes. School districts make the headlines when they cancel in-person classes and even then that situation only lasts a couple of weeks. Look at the most recent case in Chicago - it lasted one week. Since I live across the street from a large park I can tell you the kids are in school, they're playing outside, they're doing after school activities, and they're playing sports. I don't know what these people are getting on about acting like kids have been locked in their homes for two years.
It's been the norm for some time to have in-person classes. School districts make the headlines when they cancel in-person classes and even then that situation only lasts a couple of weeks. Look at the most recent case in Chicago - it lasted one week. Since I live across the street from a large park I can tell you the kids are in school, they're playing outside, they're doing after school activities, and they're playing sports. I don't know what these people are getting on about acting like kids have been locked in their homes for two years.