Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Opinion: Blame Our Elected Officials, Not Our Teachers, for Schools Being Closed
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 4 years ago on
December 11, 2020

Share

Schooling has been an ongoing challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

School closures harm families and students. Remote learning is less effective than in-person, especially for younger students. School closures require many parents to reduce work hours or leave the workforce entirely. Other than addressing the pandemic itself, the government’s top focus should be opening our schools and keeping them open. Yet, many blame unions for current school closures.

By Jenny Silva

Special to CalMatters

Keeping schools open is our government’s responsibility. Our state and local governments set the rules for which organizations can reopen when and under what conditions. The government sets guidelines for risk mitigation. The government can provide the funds necessary to make schools safe for students and teachers.

of negotiations.

Why is the failure to come to terms for reopening being placed on the teachers’ shoulders?

There is often an assumption that teachers are being unreasonable in their demands to return to in-person learning. This assumption doesn’t match the facts.

Teachers are working harder than ever. They have had to completely redesign curricula and learn how to teach remotely. Email volume outside of class is dramatically higher. Teachers do not want to teach remotely because it’s easy. They want to be remote because they are concerned about their health.

There is good reason for teachers to be concerned. In-person school, even in a hybrid model, requires interactions with many students and personnel daily, especially for high school teachers.

Many schools have inherent challenges in adjusting their systems for COVID-19, including over-crowded classrooms and poor ventilation. California has underinvested in its schools for decades, and many facilities are in poor condition.

The Unions Should Be Fighting for Teachers to Have Safe Working Conditions

Many teachers have pre-existing conditions that put them at greater risk for COVID-19 complications. While schools don’t seem prone to super-spreading events like restaurants and churches, they are clearly far more risky than retail outlets and individual outdoor activities.

The unions should be fighting for teachers to have safe working conditions. It’s not only public school teachers demanding to be protected. Most private schools are going far beyond the changes proposed for public schools to protect their teachers, including outdoor classrooms, smaller classes and frequent testing. Private school administrators are explicit that they are going above and beyond state guidelines because they have to retain their teachers.

Public schools face the same pressure. Even if the unions did not exist, public schools cannot reopen without the support of their teachers. Teachers are not forced to teach, and if teachers do not feel safe, some will choose not to teach.

Our public schools cannot function if they lose even 5% of our teachers, due to either concerns over working conditions or illness. California has a widespread, long-standing shortage of teachers. Unions have lost significant power over the past 40 years, and, as a result, have been unable to negotiate compensation packages and working conditions appealing enough to bring sufficient teachers into the profession.

This is not to shift the blame to the districts. The districts are under tremendous pressure from parents and want to reopen as well. But, limited resources restrict what districts can offer. Ultimately, our failure to invest in schools is causing this conflict.

Elected officials need to feel pressure to provide the necessary resources. It is all a matter of priorities. The government provided a $25 billion bailout to the shareholders of airlines, yet only provided $13.5 billion for schools. Why are the shareholders of airlines prioritized over the safety of our teachers? It takes us, the voters, to hold our elected officials accountable to open schools safely.

About the Author

Jennifer Silva lives in Sausalito and serves on the boards of the Redwood High School Parent Teacher Student Association, the Tamalpais High PTSA and the Oxbow School Board of Trustees. Her email is jenny@signupforcamp.com.

[activecampaign form=19]

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: CEMEX’s New Mining Plan for the San Joaquin River

DON'T MISS

Trump Fires NSC Officials a Day After Far-Right Activist Raises Concerns to Him

DON'T MISS

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

DON'T MISS

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

DON'T MISS

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

DON'T MISS

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

DON'T MISS

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

DON'T MISS

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

UP NEXT

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

UP NEXT

State Center Trustees Vote for Special Interest Giveaway Over Students: Opinion

UP NEXT

I Will Force Votes on Blocking Arms Sales to Israel: Sen. Bernie Sanders

UP NEXT

What Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Could Mean for Americans: Fareed Zakaria

UP NEXT

Why the Nation Would Be Wise to Support a Third Term Amendment for Donald Trump

UP NEXT

If California Bails Out LA’s $1 Billion Budget Deficit, Beware the Slippery Slope

UP NEXT

Trump Has Had Enough. He Is Not Alone.

UP NEXT

The Real Crisis in California Schools Is Low Achievement, Not Cultural Conflicts

UP NEXT

Trump and Musk Are Suffering From Soros Derangement Syndrome

UP NEXT

CA Politicians Have an Irritating Habit of Ignoring the Downsides

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

14 hours ago

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

14 hours ago

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

14 hours ago

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

15 hours ago

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

17 hours ago

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

17 hours ago

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

17 hours ago

Pentagon’s Watchdog to Review Hegseth’s Use of Signal App to Convey Plans for Houthi Strike

17 hours ago

President Trump’s Tariffs Could Be the Political Tipping Point

18 hours ago

Order That Kept Water in the Kern River Reversed by 5th District Court of Appeal

18 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: CEMEX’s New Mining Plan for the San Joaquin River

GV Wire’s Edward Smith talks with KMPH Fox 26 “Great Day” anchor Christina Rodriguez about the possibility of CEMEX digging a 600-foot hole ...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: CEMEX’s New Mining Plan for the San Joaquin River

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
12 hours ago

Trump Fires NSC Officials a Day After Far-Right Activist Raises Concerns to Him

13 hours ago

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

14 hours ago

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

14 hours ago

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

14 hours ago

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, seated right, gives a thumbs-up alongside his wife Lisa Oz, seated left, with friends and family after he testified at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP/Ben Curtis)
15 hours ago

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

17 hours ago

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend