Washington View: Stop blaming teachers for school closures

The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the public’s contradictory views about public education. At beginning of pandemic, Maria Ferguson explains, they were lauded as heroes for keeping kids connected after school buildings closed. But when schools slower to reopen than many parents wanted, excoriated selfishly protecting their own interests. Much criticism was leveled at unions, which resisted reopening if members could not be protected from coronavirus. Blaming unions is new, says Ferguson, but everyone involved in education responsible its outcomes.