After news broke midmeeting that Chicago Teachers Union members would vote on collectively refusing to report in person next week, several parents at the Lakeview school recited a letter endorsed by 54 of them urging CPS and union leaders to come to an agreement that will put their children back in classrooms. Some teachers in turn said reopening was not safe and that championing its cause ignores the students of color who were less likely to opt for returning to in-person learning.
Before reading out the letter, parents shared a collection of anonymous anecdotes that painted a picture of despair in the era of remote learning.
There was a description of a boy’s “full-blown meltdowns” since classrooms closed in March — episodes severe enough to merit psychiatric help. There were multiple reports of other children showing possible symptoms of depression and anxiety. And still more stories of students transferring out after roadblocks in remote learning.
Aaaaaand… there it is:
But seventh grade humanities teacher Emily Skowronek questioned the rush to reopen with COVID-19 alive and roaring — and a vaccine for teachers that could be weeks away. She called on community members to recognize the “privilege” they have to be part of a school with a high return rate of students.
“By asking so loudly to return whether through actions or words, I do not believe we are sending a message of allyship to communities of color in our city,” Skowronek said. “It saddens me that this does not match the conversations and learning that we have in the classroom addressing systemic racism.”
That is a 7th grade teacher who is clearly more concerned with pushing social justice indoctrination and Critical Race Theory than reading and geometry. Frankly, I think the parents should reconsider ever putting their kids back in those schools.
Awful! Just awful!
Can this kind of disgusting liberal mentality even be reformed?