A look back at the role teachers' unions played during the height of COVID
Let me say this first: I have great respect for teachers. I have many educators in my family, from two uncles who taught in public schools and became administrators, to my brother, who is a public high school teacher. My mother-in-law spent her career teaching at a public school as well.
And it was my high school English teacher who gave me the confidence to pursue a life of writing.
I know how hard these teachers have worked and how much care they’ve shown their students. And I know there are thousands more just like them.
What bothers me – and what became so apparent during the pandemic – is the power that teachers unions hold. This power is often wielded in ways that do not benefit students and families. For instance, unions across the country blocked a return to in-person learning in the 2020-21 school year and used their resistance as a bargaining chip for increased pay and other perks.
In states where unions don’t hold as much control – such as Texas and Florida – public schools returned to in-person learning much sooner. Private schools also opened their classrooms months ahead of many public schools where strong unions blocked that opportunity for students.
Studies have demonstrated the learning loss and mental health challenges faced by students, many of whom did not fare well from learning at home.
This is why I wanted to remind parents what happened during the pandemic, and the role that teachers unions played. You can read my full column here, and thank you for your support of our work.
-Ingrid Jacques
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I paid off $65K in debt months before Biden's student loan forgiveness.
By Cydney Henderson
I entered 2021 fatigued like everyone else. The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, the volatile state of our country, topped off by the third consecutive year of my journey to being debt-free.
I had committed myself in my early 20s to an ambitious goal of paying off $65,000 worth of debt, most being student loans, as quickly as I could.
I know that would lead any normal person to ask, “Why?” Read more...
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