Why I, a high school teacher, am so pissed off by the new CDC statement on reopening schools - A THREAD. Here's the link to the original document: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/reopening-schools.html

This is the most dangerous form of bullshit. This is political rhetoric cloaked in science. It is framed in such a way that the full fall reopening of schools is the author's goal and the "evidence" is selected to support that goal while ignoring the broader situation.

The statement begins by stating that children die at low rates by COVID-19, but says nothing about the school staff. Some children will die of this disease and even more will have long lasting medical problems because of it.

Additionally, the document says nothing about the safety of the adults working with the children. If you don't care about the staff, think about how those children will bring the disease home to their FAMILIES and COMMUNITIES.

It is true that extended breaks from in-person schooling are harmful to children, especially low-income students, minority students, and students with disabilities. But the solution to this is not to reopen schools during dangerous surges of the disease.

THE SOLUTION IS TO BRING THE DISEASE UNDER CONTROL. This can only be done by a coordinated effort between the federal government and the states. Trump is not interested in this. He is interested in shifting the blame to schools. This is why this CDC document exists.

On top of that, we know that COVID-19 illnesses and deaths disproportionately affect minority groups and low-income groups. Sending these children back to school is something that will significantly increase the spread of the virus within those groups.

This document is doing everything it can to pressure schools into reopening. It is even using the statement that childhood obesity could increase 2.4% if schools remain closed until December. This statement may or may not be true, but it misses the point.

Schools do provide education, opportunities for socialization and physical activity, social and emotional development, and so much else. It is important that they reopen. But they cannot be reopened in person until the virus is under control.

Trump is setting up teachers and schools to be a scapegoat. He is going to blame us for not reopening when we all can see that his incompetence and abandonment of the American people during a pandemic is the source of the problem.

In the areas where schools won't open, Trump will say that the schools are full of liberals who refuse to go back to work--and will attempt to withhold federal funding. In the areas where schools do open, there will be surges of the virus and the schools will eventually close.

This is an attempt to shift blame for the massive societal disruption of schools closing AWAY FROM TRUMP and TO THE SCHOOLS. This move is being made to not only avoid actually doing something about COVID-19, but to further erode public faith in public education.