Systems should be consulting parents about what they want and for their ideas, working to ensure that they have the resources they need to keep education moving in their home or neighborhood.
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School districts continue to struggle with critical decisions, union threats about national strikes, and parents are taking their children’s education into their own hands like never before.
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“Go and set the world on fire.” Those simple words from St. Ignatius of Loyola, whose feast day is today, colored all of his works, most notably the establishment of the Jesuits, among whose leading contributions is Catholic education.
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As school systems are struggling to manage the myriad challenges of reopening, the American Federation of Teachers Union President Randi Weingarten announced that her union had approved teacher strikes as a “last resort” to protest school reopening plans that do not meet its laundry list of demands and safety standards.
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The reactions to a recent article about reopening school and the pernicious effects of delaying school, in any form, any longer, have reminded me of a fundamental tenet of good communication: Never assume your reader knows anything about your subject.
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Instead of preparing to reopen schools, unions have spent their own members' time and resources on securing concessions and negotiating contracts.
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Left, right and center, political reporters are knee deep in covering the impact and controversy over conflicting calls and demands to open school or limit everyone to learning remotely. Community, parent and teacher responses have been fast and furious. It’s hard to keep up. Nearly every hour of the day there is a new story about another system announcing new opening plans, unions standing in their way, or parents losing faith.
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This time the sour reminder hit close to home, however, when the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) announced that charters’ arch enemy, teachers union leader Randi Weingarten, would be joining them for a folksy little fireside chat in their annual conference (virtual this year) in an effort to find ‘common ground.’
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The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue is a victory for education opportunity and excellence. Issuing one of its final decisions for the 2019-2020 session, the Court on June 30 ruled that a provision in Montana’s Constitution which had the effect of denying parents the choice of attending religious schools is discriminatory and violates the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution. Commonly called a “Blaine Amendment,” such provisions have existed in 37 state constitutions. The Espinoza decision portends the beginning of their demise.
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