A conservative columnist said it is time to “crush the [teacher] unions” and “fire the teachers” if they refuse to teach in-person.
Cheryl Chumley, an opinion editor for The Washington Times, recently commented on the Chicago Teachers Union refusal to teach in-person.
“Crush the unions. Fire the teachers. That’s the surefire way to get the nation’s children back into schools,” Chumley said. Teachers have options, such as using sick days, taking precautions to stay safe or finding a new job, she said.
If teachers do not want to teach, they should be fired. But she said unions would prevent that, so that is why the unions should be crushed.
Chumley said:
The Chicago Teachers Union just told school administrators to get you-know-what, after members decided by vote that being ordered back to the classrooms to provide in-person instruction was too dangerous for these coronavirus times.
These teachers should be fired. Fire ‘em all.
So, too, all the ridiculously coddled teachers in public schools around the nation who are steadfastly refusing to return to the classroom out of some kind of over-exaggerated fear of catching COVID-19.
The conservative commentator said that teachers should not be treated differently than other occupations that continue to scale back remote work. Furthermore, the age of most of the teachers make them at low-risk from serious coronavirus consequences.
“Everyone else in the world knows how to take basic health care steps in order to resume normal activities — or at the least, somewhat normalized activity,” Chumley said. “Why not teachers?”
She noted the ages of teachers makes them an unlikely target for serious from coronavirus complications:
According to 2011-2012 data from the National Center for Education Studies, the average age of teachers in the United States was 42. Roughly 15% were younger than 30 years old; 54% fell between 30 years old and 49 years old; nearly 12% were between the ages of 50 and 54; and almost 19% were age 55 or higher.
Child Trends, meanwhile, reported that in 2017-2018, only 17% of public school teachers in America were above the age of 55 years old; 12% were between 50 and 54 years old; 57% between 30 and 49 years old; and 14% younger than 30.
“The only reason teachers get by with staying home from school is because their unions are using the coronavirus to financial and political advantage,” Chumley said.
IMAGE: Merrimack College/Flickr
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