For The Good of Kids and Teachers, Unions Should Stop Blocking School Choice

Neal McCluskeyIn March, at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns, the CDCreported: “In other countries, those places who closed school (e.g., Hong Kong) have not had more success in reducing spread than those that did not (e.g., Singapore).” Today, that the default for schools should be in‐​person instruction, especially for younger students, has beenreinforcedmyriadtimes. Add to this the release of COVID vaccines, and many jurisdictionsprioritizing teachers to receive them, and you would expect public schools across the nation to be welcoming kids back in droves.Not so fast. In Chicago, under the direction of their union, thousands of teachersrefused to return to in ‐​person instruction yesterday. In Fairfax County, Virginia, the teacher association isresisting returning to in ‐​person instruction even after all teachers – but not students – have been vaccinated. These are continuations ofre ‐​opening refusals from unions that we have seen throughout the pandemic.I ’vepointed out before that the national COVID response has shone a  brilliant light on the long‐​existing necessity of school choice. All children have different needs and face different dangers – the child with a learning disability may need in‐​person education, the one living with elderly grandparents may need to stay home – but too often a distri ct or school can offer just one option. Of course, teacher unions have long been the most prominent opponents of school cho...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs