If Teachers Won’t Teach, Follow Ronald Reagan’s Example and Fire Them

Townhall.com ^ | August 5, 2020 | Bob Barr

[luvbach1]

I heard a NY teacher explain that schools must replace their ventilation systems before she and her cohorts would consider returning to teach. She mentioned other requirements. Sounds like a liberal wish list must be satisfied before schools can open. At least until November 3rd.

[Pox]

Exactly what I proposed several weeks ago.

Plenty of unemployed Americans who I believe are quite capable of doing an equivalent or likely better job.

[newzjunkey]

Those are not equivalent situations. Covid can kill.

When I saw pictures from Georgia schools that went back yesterday, I noticed no attempts at social distancing between students and no masks on most of them.

Would I want to be trapped in a room with 30 disease vectors all day or a couple hundred daily if at junior high or high school level? Probably not.

I say this as an essential worker dealing with the stupid public every day since covid started, Kemp is doing his best to flip GA blue.

[SpaceBar]

You are very wrong and ignorant.

ad hominem attack right out of the gate...

[newzjunkey]

Schools opening or not is up to the State or Local Board. The government has NO say.

Uhhh... they ARE government, either appointed bureaucrats or elected representatives.

[Salvavida]

We would do better with adults that have NO COLLEGE DEGREE but are self-taught and have a passion for this country and youth.

[SpaceBar]

Few things are abysmal as the quality of taxpayer funded “public” education in the United States.

[MayflowerMadam]

“Sounds like a liberal wish list must be satisfied before schools can open. At least until November 3rd.”

I don’t think that the November 3 date will impact the teachers AT ALL! The election will impact most things related to Covid, but not the teachers. The majority of them are slackers, and they don’t want to work again — ever — and still get paid. The WuFlu it the current excuse, but they’ll come up with something else.

[386wt]

Amen.

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

The problem is that (at least in my locality) most of the teachers want to go back. It is the administrators, teacher’s union (not to be confused with the teachers... in this right-to-work state the vast majority of teachers don’t belong to the union... less than 30% in my county) and the school board that want schools to stay closed. The vast majority of parents want them open, too. In fact, the county gave out a survey where more than 8 of 10 parents wanted to return to in-person learning, so the county disavowed its own survey!

By all means, fire the teachers that don’t return. But that’s not going to get kids back in school. The school boards and administrations need to feel the pain before this will change...

[Flaming Conservative]

Teacher’s Unions are powerful leftist organizations. And while many teachers, especially in their 40’s and under, have, unfortunately, been indoctrinated by the lefty professors who taught them, I’d say many of them have a pretty tough job teaching in public schools, where little or no discipline is allowed. You hear of teachers being hit, spit on, ignored, etc., and Covid19 not withstanding, a lot of them should get combat pay. Our permissive society has ruined a lot of things, and many public schools are among them. Having said all that, if I were a teacher in a public school full of undisciplined kids, I’d prefer distance teaching, myself. Or maybe I’d try a private school. Of course, most private schools pay half or less than half of public schools, but it might be worth it to have a little discipline in the classroom, and motivated parents.

[Flaming Conservative]

About half my property taxes go toward schools where the buildings are closed and teachers aren’t teaching.

When do we get rebates - where is this $$ going?

---

I believe they’re still getting paid.

[Vermont Lt]

Federal Gov. really, Trumps answer to these questions should be: Tour local government knows best. That is what a federal republic is all about.

Put the onus on local government. Teach a civics lesson at 5 PM every night during his presser.

[Scott Kraut]

In much of America sending kids to public school should be considered child abuse.

[Brilliant]

I would not make them temps. I suspect that there would be a lot of turnover during the year.

[drypowder]

Trash tenure for good and fire the teachers that refuse to show up and do their job. The teachers that won’t go to work are more than likely the kind that need to be fired anyway because they obviously don’t care about the students.

[Brilliant]

And I suspect that it would not even be necessary to hire replacements. In Florida I understand that only about 30% of the students will be attending live classes. I suspect you can find 30% of the teachers to do so as well.

[Pearls Before Swine]

So, if you won’t make them temps, and you would let the suspended teachers come back in a year... how would that work?

In your scenario, would the suspended teachers draw full, half, maintenance, or no salary during the year? And then they’d be able to come back to their old positions?

[Brilliant]

No salary but they can return. I suspect a lot would not and also that you’d not have to hire many replacements because Class enrollment would be down. My suspicion by the way is that this is going to go on for several years so if they won’t want to come back this year then they won’t next year either.

[Agamemnon]

My local teachers do fine.

They are fine if they go back to school to teach the kids like your tax dollars have paid them all these years to do. If they do not go back, they are not good teachers. They are effectively on strike if they fail to return to the classroom to teach the kids.

This is another area where people want to nationalize education. I disagree. If we were to nationalize education, my town’s superior schools would be dragged down to the mean. That would kills my home’s value.

Same argument used with the Air Traffic Controllers. "Oh the horrors! Without the same Air Traffic Controllers who walked off/fired themselves, we'll have mid air collisions and we're all gonna die." Didn't happen that way did it?

Your schools are not superior when your teachers stage a walk out. Tell them to go back to work or they won't get paid.

Why is it everyone is interested in nationalizing everything. Schools opening or not is up to the State or Local Board. The government has NO say.

The National Education Association is the union to which your teachers belong at the state level in order teach in your "superior" public schools. If your teachers are so great have them walk away from the union, or maybe Trump can help them do so by decertifying the union.

Did ANYONE take 4th grade civics?

Did Reagan offend your 4th Grade-level sensibilities back in 1981 when he stared down another union and won?

FReegards!