The teachers unions are trying to shut down schools again. Will Democrats finally stand up to them?
Citing the new wave of omicron cases, which pose just as little, if not even less, risk to children as the other strains of COVID, teachers unions in several major cities are demanding that school officials shut down the classrooms once again and return to remote learning. The Chicago Teachers Union, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, is preparing to lead a walk-out on Wednesday so that school districts have no choice but to close their doors. In New York City, the United Federation of Teachers is lobbying Mayor Eric Adams to return to remote learning for at least a week. And in Massachusetts, the state’s American Federation of Teachers union is claiming teachers should not have to return to in-person work “in the midst of a runaway public health crisis.”
Other cities, such as Washington, D.C., have already permitted several public schools to revert back to virtual learning. And though they claim this pivot is only temporary, the past two years have proved that the sacrifices COVID policies have demanded of us have a way of sticking around.
Children have already been forced to sacrifice too much. Democratic COVID policies continue to subject children to extreme COVID restrictions despite the fact that they are not, and never have been, at serious risk from COVID-19. In the Centers for Disease Control’s latest guidance, for example, children are expected to self-isolate for 10 days if they are exposed to COVID-19, while adults are allowed to leave their homes after only five days.
Unsurprisingly, these policies have inflicted severe mental, social, and academic damage on children. Several experts, including the U.S. surgeon general, have admitted the pandemic created a mental health crisis among young children and adolescents that is spiraling out of control. And a majority of public school districts across the country have continued to report academic setbacks, especially among low-income and special needs students, this past year.
The teachers unions would like to see this pattern continue. Their push to shut down schools again would exacerbate the many problems plaguing children right now while doing nothing at all to prevent the spread of Omicron.
Democratic city officials must resist their efforts and publicly call them out for disregarding the well-being of students. If they don’t, they’ll have the parents to answer to at the voting booth.
