Claytoonz: Fun with teachers unions

This is not a fight between rational people who follow science and want to protect children and Republican troglodytes who are against science, mask mandates, vaccines, and villainize scientists and educators.

Chicago Teachers Union voted to return to remote learning this week, shutting down public schools and sending over 330,000 students back to remote learning. This also sent hundreds of thousands of parents scrambling to balance between being a parent and their full-time jobs.

In Florida, they battle over mask mandates in schools and mandating vaccines. This is not the case.

In Chicago, over 90 percent of public school teachers are vaccinated. Even with the Omicron variant spreading through the nation, those fully vaxxed are very unlikely to be hospitalized if they catch COVID. Chicago’s public schools require indoor masking and are also distributing high-quality N95 masks in its schools. The federal government has given public schools over $200 billion to make them safe.

Shutting down schools and going to remote learning was the right thing to do in 2020 and parts of 2021, but it had a damaging effect on our children. We can not take school away from them again, especially since we don’t have to.

Cases in children are rising, but while 830,000 people have died from COVID-19 in this country, only about 1,000 of them have been children.

I know the guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control can be confusing, but they recommend that schools remain open. President Joe Biden is on the side of kids staying in schools.

I think our first reaction when it comes to protecting kids is to shut down schools. I also think a liberal’s first reaction is to shut them down when they hear a teachers union make that call. And tribalists are quick to argue for their side’s position before they do any reading on the issue. but read on this. Talk to an actual teacher instead of the teachers’ unions.

The science still says to keep kids in schools.

Creative note: Sorry for the short blog but my power is out again and I’m trying to preserve battery life on my devices. I also have my CNN deadline today, so I may be moving my work to a Dunks or a Starbucks. This latest outage doesn’t make any fucking sense and I’m pissed. The rest of my neighborhood has power. I also didn’t fully charge my phone before going to bed last night. Dominion Energy, this is bullshit.

Music note: My power is out so I didn’t listen to any music while drawing this cartoon as I was trying to save battery power on all my devices.