By Ray Cardello for January 10, 2023 Season 15 / Post 31

Messing with our children is a detriment to their future and the direction of this country. The Pandemic took its toll on every individual, but the way the teacher’s union used COVID as a bargaining tool took its impact on every student in America. We know by test scores that the last two-plus years have seen a significant drop in reading and math scores. College entrance test scores are at their lowest average in three decades. We will not know for years how much damage has been done to elementary school children with mask mandates and remote learning.

The driving force for restrictions and terms for reopening schools is the teacher’s unions. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) are two of the largest unions in the country and worked in unison with the CDC and Biden White House on how and when the schools would reopen. When we look at the decline in education quality, we can point to the AFT President, Randi Weingarten, as public enemy number one. She has shown by her actions that the AFT was more concerned with concessions on cultural issues than with the education of our children.

Over the weekend, Weingarten went on the record saying that remote learning was a failure and not a substitute for classroom attendance. Too late, Randi. That is what parents told you for years, but you had turned a deaf ear to them as you worked with the DOJ to have vocal parents labeled as Domestic Terrorists. We now know who the real villain is, and Randi Weingarten is guilty of, among other things, projection.

Weingarten saw an opportunity with the COVID Pandemic and used it well to bring about change in issues unrelated to education. We must address one thing first. The teacher’s unions should be involved in the working conditions for its members, the teachers. There is no reason for these unions to be involved in decisions that impact the education of students. The lines are blurred,.and the unions have overstepped their niche.

Weingarten has been the President of the United Federation of Teachers (1998-2008) and the American Federation of Teachers (2008-present), and in that time has built herself a dynasty. She draws a salary above $500,000, more than the President and the highest-paid federal employee, the now-retired Dr. Anthony Fauci. The problem with Weingarten is not her salary; it has to be detailed because it is funded with dues from underpaid teachers and staff. The problem is the list of items she negotiated during COVID. Weingarten is opposed to teacher accountability and charter schools. She has favored subsidized housing for teachers and tying class size to salaries. She agrees but denies that Critical Race Theory and sexual-oriented topics are taught in schools. Her beliefs in unified restrooms, gender assignment, and transgender issues may be tied to her gay personal relationship. Very few of these issues are related to education, but all were used as pawns when deciding when her teachers would return to class. Weingarten, the teacher’s unions, and even the Department of Education have all been detrimental to the education quality for over thirty years and need to be eradicated. Unfortunately, all are far too powerful and may need to be tolerated forever. That is unfortunate for our children and future.