Written by T. Logan Dayne
Fewer institutions have been more avid for a complete shutdown than teachers unions. This group of people have clung to the pandemic as a collective bargaining chip and this is no surprise. The ability to manage classes and teach online in the comfort of your own home is a dream come true for some teachers. Absolute control over a digital environment where any dissent, disruptions, and criticism can be muted with a button.
Teachers Unions have capitalized on the COVID-19 pandemic for their own gain. In as early as May of 2020, the California Teachers Association put out a statement saying, “When exercising a ‘get for the give’ approach to bargaining concessions, locals should consider strengthening or implementing consultation procedures language in the CBA (collective bargaining agreement).” Then added, “Now is the time to secure (contract) language improvements that we have wanted for some time.” As utopian as this goal is for some teachers, for students it is another type of dream entirely. The isolation from fellow peers in a time critical for childhood development is something many teachers unions have either not considered or simply do not care about and its effects are quickly beginning to show.
In the face of mental health decay caused by shutdowns, closures, and isolation, some teachers unions are advocating for more shutdowns, closures, and isolation. As reported in November out of 8,692 schools, 36% had closures for “mental health”. For many of these this doesn’t mean there is no school. Only that online classes and work would be taken that way, preserving a piece of the teachers unions pandemic strategy perpetually. The shutdowns have compromised student’s health and now unions are attempting to fix the problem by closing schools again.
This does not go unnoticed by parents either as enrollment rates are beginning to drop in favor of homeschool and private school. Enrollment rates in public schools are predicted to keep declining, especially as cities like Los Angeles, whose attendance dropped by 6% or 27,000 students, places stricter mandates for returning students as young as 12 under the FDA emergency authorization, which goes from 5-15 years of age.
Photo Cred: Politico
