They Knew Not What They Did?
Teachers' unions and school administrators lobbied and implemented abhorrent policies that negatively impacted millions of children. They need to acknowledge this.
“This fall I think you’re riding for—it’s a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling. The whole arrangement’s designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldn’t supply them with. Or they thought their own environment couldn’t supply them with. So they gave up looking…and became teacher’s union delegates or school superintendents. They realized they’d have more control over their fall that way. That’s the type of people you’ll be dealing with out there, Holden. Now go to sleep so I can stand over you, stroke your head, and watch you breathe.”
- New York University English instructor Mr. Antolini’s late-night rantings to his former Elkton Hills student, Holden Caulfield, circa December 1949.
Navigating the challenges of parenthood demands a resilience that many contemporary adults lack. Even those who believe they have the necessary qualities may sometimes falter. Unfortunately, our children bear the brunt of those moments. Parenting isn't easy. It's very, very hard. Accepting harsh feedback from a spouse or hearing your loose words echoed from your kid’s tongue can be gut-wrenching. Yet, to be better for our sons and daughters, we embrace humility, confront our flaws, and do our best to check our egos.
What is disheartening (I express this perspective from a broad structural standpoint, not against individual teachers) is the reluctance of our educational institutions to engage in similar introspection in the aftermath of the pandemic. There appears to be a lack of genuine self-reflection or a sincere, sober postmortem of the many disastrous K-12 educational policies that profoundly impacted American schoolchildren. The prevailing attitude is, 'We might have made some mistakes; let's not dwell on them; let's move on.' But move toward what? All their dismissive approach does is hinder learning from past mistakes and, ideally, implement practical improvements to benefit our kids’ future.
Let’s address some of the issues.
During the pandemic, over a million children left K-12 public schools. The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the "Nation's Report Card,” indicates no signs of academic recovery from 2020. America's 13-year-olds experienced unprecedented declines in mathematics, with the average reading score dropping by 4 points. A recent Gallup poll reveals that 63% of people are dissatisfied with U.S. K-12 education. Schools have reported significant increases in student depression, anxiety, and trauma.
For many parents, the perception prevails that politicians and school board officials have escaped accountability. The 2022 midterms, an opportunity for a referendum on the COVID-19 madness, fell short. The GOP failed to effectively spotlight Blue State failure, particularly regarding the critical issue of keeping schools open.
This isn't just a new right-wing claim. In 2020, the Annenberg Institute at Brown University published a paper titled "Politics, Markets, and Pandemics: Public Education's Response to COVID-19." It was far from flattering. Contrary to the conventional view of school districts as localized and non-partisans, the report found that politics, more than science, shaped their decision-making. Mass partisanship and teacher union strength were key factors influencing how school boards approached reopening. The report also concluded that COVID policies in education should have been apolitical but were instead "infected with politics."
The Biden administration and Democrats engaged in manifold political maneuvers, notably allowing teacher's unions to collaborate with the CDC to champion continued school closures.
When public outrage peaked, and it was time to get back to instructing America's students, multiple teacher union members, apprehensive about returning to work, took to the streets, carrying mock coffins and adorned social justice regalia.
Although many teachers and administrators strived to prioritize their students' learning, union constraints and school district higher-ups often hindered them.
When will they fess up?
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed that something is very broken in the American educational system. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that the powers are in any rush to right the ship.
Yep. I have a niece and a nephew who teach in the public schools. When they talk about school policy issues their on-the-ground perspecives often differ greatly from the positions taken by union leaders. Shocking, right? :-)