According to a latest poll released by the National Institute of Education (NEA), 55 percent of public school teachers and other staff across the country said they plan to leave the industry early due to additional pressure from the pandemic.
NPR: Educators generally point out that one of the reasons for their growing frustration with their jobs is the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of action taken by schools to combat the pandemic.
An analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the NEA found that as of earlier this month, U.S. public schools currently had 567,000 fewer educators than they did before the outbreak.
NBC report screenshot
Faced with this situation, Lynn Gangone, president of the American Federation of Teachers Colleges and Universities, warned that the continuation of the epidemic has seriously hindered the normal development of education in the United States, "I don't know how bad it will get, only that if it is not taken seriously, there will be no one in this country to educate our children." ”
Lynn Gangone
Schools are worried about the virus
Politicians are thinking differently
In the two years since the outbreak of the epidemic, the constantly politicized epidemic prevention policy has made american campuses one of the hardest hit areas for the spread of the virus. There has been a lot of fighting between states and localities, between governments and schools, and between schools and parents over whether schools have the right to implement school mask orders.
Statistics updated in real time by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) show that as of February 9, local time, 28 states in the United States, including Oklahoma, have lifted the mandatory order that requires residents to wear masks in public places. Another 11 states have never had a mandatory mask order. In addition, Republican states such as Florida and Texas have also used legislative or administrative means to prevent local governments and school districts from implementing mask orders.
Screenshot of the American Association of Retirees website
Facing a crisis on campus
At the same time that Lauren was heartbroken by being forced to suspend his studies, Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stett still talked about his "achievements" in governing in a recent state affairs address, claiming that his decision to let businesses continue to open and operate prospered the state's economy, but said nothing about the state's failure to fight the epidemic.
Oklahoma: Stevett's top campaign rival, Democrat Joey Hofmeis, criticized Stett for being very unsuccessful in leading the state's response to the outbreak, but in his speech, "I didn't even hear him mention that about 13,600 Oklahoma people died of COVID-19." ”
Ironically, it's not just Republican states that are abandoning masks. As the midterm elections in the US Congress approached, Democrats, who had always been shown to support strict epidemic prevention, began to change their tone.
In the past two days, a number of Democratic states from New Jersey to Illinois have announced that in view of the new wave of the Epidemic caused by the Omicron mutation showing signs of "improvement", these states will cancel the mandatory wearing of masks in indoor public places such as schools.
White House press secretary Psaki had said at first that the federal government refused to support the states' decisions. But then she had to change her mind to say that "whether or not to implement the mask order depends on the school" and said that she "understands that the American public is tired of the new crown virus."
ABC: White House press secretary Psaki downplayed tensions with the governor, but there is no doubt that President Biden is now under intense pressure from members of his party to lead the country back to normal.
It's the epidemic that's getting better
Or the choice is tight
As has happened repeatedly over the past two years, the reason states have removed mask orders is nothing more than that the epidemic is "getting better." But is that really the case?
Recently, WHO once again warned that many countries have not yet reached the peak of the epidemic in Omicron, so the epidemic prevention restrictions should be gradually lifted in a stable and slow manner.
While there is evidence that the Opichron variant is less harmful to fully vaccinated populations, many U.S. experts believe that because the COVID-19 vaccination rate for school-age people is not high enough, new confirmed cases are still emerging, and it is too early to announce the cancellation of the school mask order.
According to data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 6.7 million children aged 5-11 in the United States are currently fully vaccinated against COVID-19, accounting for only about 23% of the total population in this age group, and only 3.1% of the total population fully vaccinated.
The latest data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the 9th local time also shows that although the number of hospitalized covid-19 patients in the United States is less than 100,000 for the first time in more than a month, many southern states with low vaccination rates are still the areas with the highest infection rates.
U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention Center Valensky recently said that although American society is "eager to return to normal", the unsatisfactory numbers of hospitalizations and deaths make it difficult for her to relax the epidemic prevention requirements now.
CNN reported screenshots
Do it knowingly
The only explanation is "for politics."
As the New York Times commentary put it, the loosening of restrictions began to spread to some of the "bluedest states" (the most powerful Democratic states), reflecting that the country has entered a new political phase after two years of epidemics, because school closures have also hurt Democrats. And "turning the page" will allow Democrats to focus more on economic issues that are tougher than the pandemic.
The New York Times: In the early days of the outbreak, Democrats used the colloquialism of "believing in science" to show their abilities and slammed Republicans who flouted public health guidance. But now even the White House acknowledges that there is a growing gap between public opinion and the advice of the president's public health adviser.
Public opinion generally pointed out that the practice of a number of Democratic governors announcing the cancellation of the mask order has nothing to do with science, nor does it have anything to do with epidemic prevention and control, only related to politics. It is precisely because of the tight elections before the arrival of the midterm elections that these governors urgently need to create a "better epidemic" illusion. This is a complete politicization of the epidemic.
CNN: Democratic governors are abandoning mask orders faster than the White House means "politics and science are in conflict again."
Even Pete Heggses, the host of conservative Fox News, seized the opportunity to sneer that Democrats now want people to take off their masks because they are worried about the midterm elections, and that the next time a virus variant appears, they will throw the mask back to the child. ”
Screenshot of fox news report
Politicians make a fuss around masks, and it is the teachers and children in the school who suffer the loss.
Randy Weingarten
As Randy Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), said, what schools need now is a clear, covid-19-based epidemic prevention regulation to determine whether and when a school mask order is needed. "So on this issue, we have to have a dialogue based on science rather than politics."
Source: Global News+