Lame attempt at some Alice Cooper humor… I know. But part of me is starting to think this song is somewhat prophetic. I don’t usually write about much outside of the tech world, but in this case, that world overlaps with education and unfortunately, politics. So… here I go.
There is still talk of keeping schools closed down in many, if not most, communities around the country. And this is despite the CDC scaling back original recommendations and saying that in-person learning is okay. I’m no conspiracy theorist, and I’m not even crying conspiracy here, but I feel I have to share my confusion. We’re all confused as the Coronavirus data evolves and recommendations keep changing along with the messaging. But here’s where I’m stuck. Most kids get the flu shot at the start of every flu season. Still, the flu is way more harmful to children than Covid-19. Yet, we’ve never talked of shutting down schools on such a large scale. Ever! Sure, from time to time, and under extreme circumstances, a district or two might shut for a couple of weeks to stop the spread of an aggressive flu strand. But that is limited to one or two communities at most and is nothing like what we’ve seen and might continue to see this year. And if someone comes back with, “it’s just to slow the spread because the children are carriers,” then again, I’d have to ask, why not the same precautions in the past with those aggressive flu strands for the children's sake? After all, the flu can also be extremely dangerous for our children, elderly, and high-risk neighbors. Again, I’m not screaming conspiracy, but what’s with all the double standards we’re seeing. I’m genuinely concerned that my kids… that all kids… are missing some invaluable social and cognitive development. Not to mention the psychological and emotional damage we are causing.
To the political angle, I can't help but blame the teacher's unions. At least the ones where I live. I am a long-time democrat voter and have always supported their unions, but I am starting to think most teachers themselves, not the unions want to be back in the classroom. At least those teachers I've spoken with. The unions claimed they would follow CDC guidelines. However, after the CDC said in-person learning was okay, they reneged. The unions then said in-person learning could resume once teachers have received vaccines, but now, they're saying that won't be enough. But the real kicker here is that most private or parochial schools have been in session for the majority of this year. If they were the hotbeds these unions claim they were going to be, don't you think we would have heard about it by now? The truth is, they're not hotbeds. Not even a little. So, either the teachers and administrators at these schools that are in-person are superhuman or they're just not cowards. I think the latter is the most logical explanation. Either that, or it really is all political. And shame on them if that's the case.
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