Written by Mary Scyocurka
Hooray! The Coronado Unified School District is officially open! Middle school and high school students are phasing back onto campus. As the county, state, and CDC guidelines all state, schools are safe to open. Students and parents are thrilled! However, the local ABC News affiliate in San Diego titled their story on the subject, “Controversy over Coronado schools reopening”.
What could the controversy be? The controversy about the high school teacher heard in class, spewing his personal political hatred of former President Trump? No, he’s been doing that for years. Could the controversy be about the art teacher who required her students to create suicide portraits at a time when kids didn’t have access to mental health care? No, the teacher was merely written-up.
The school board decided that supplemental materials could be good teaching tools. Of course, showing the mini-series “Holocaust” is appropriate when teaching students about the atrocities of World War II. It brings the lecture to life. Asking students to view, contemplate, and create portraits of suicide is not a teachable moment. The school board allows for the good judgment of our great teachers in choosing their supplemental materials. Obviously, some should not be left to their own devices. Apparently, this is not controversial.
So what is the controversy in the Coronado Unified School District? Despite assurances from the CDC, the teachers union wants all educators to be vaccinated first. In fact, the California Teachers Association has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the school district. Teachers have the option of teaching remotely, if they are afraid to stand masked behind a plexiglass wall, socially distanced from the kids. Union sympathizers are calling for empathy for the teachers.
Empathy should be shown to those who do not have the option of working virtually or behind plexiglass, namely our law enforcement officers, who come in close, personal contact with strangers on a daily basis. The controversy should be that those who are sworn to protect us are not yet approved for the vaccine. Voters should be writing to the County Board of Supervisors and insisting that our police officers have the opportunity to be vaccinated now.
Photo via Slideshare
