Two months after the coronavirus pandemic forced schools across the country to close their doors, educators and students remain hunkered down in their homes teaching and learning remotely. Everybody is doing the best they can, but the challenges around distance learning are formidable – and will likely remain so until school re-opens. But what “back-to-school” this year will actually look like to students, educators and parents is shrouded in uncertainty.There we go. They care.
What is clear is that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the inequities facing our most vulnerable students.
“Educators and parents are making their voice heard to ensure that students do not pay the price in this crisis,” said Eskelsen García, who cited a recent NEA survey revealing that almost 90% of the public school parents approve of how educators are doing their job during the pandemic – higher marks than they gave their governor or mayor.What do these children need? More money for their teachers! More money for computers! In a time when states, due to their own mandated shutdowns, have huge holes in their budgets. California is looking at a 25% loss in state income, and somehow schools, which take up about 50% of the state budget, are supposed to be immune to this?
Eskeslen-García said re-opening the economy and communities can’t happen until we re-open schools. And we can’t re-open schools until students have what they need to be safe, to learn and succeed.
I don't want to take a pay cut any more than the next guy, but no amount of unicorn farts is going to save teachers from sharing some of the pain. I anticipate pay freezes and perhaps furlough days, at least for the next year. At least I didn't lose my job, as so many other taxpayers have.
The rest of the article is more "children need to feel safe!" ridiculum (I think I just invented a word there). Children will feel safe if the adults don't tell them they're unsafe. And I don't even have an Ed.D. to figure that out.
I've never been a huge union fan, but I always paid my dues. I've cancelled my membership out of sheer fury at their bullshit lately.
ReplyDeleteThe only good news I can see is this: unions are mouthing this crap because they know full well parents are nervous about schools opening. If there ever comes a time when parents want schools to open, unions will lose.
What worries me, though, is that parents as of yet don't really want to go back, so if unions argue against it, politicians won't insist on it. And we'll be stuck in this idiotic situation that's so tragically bad for kids for even longer.