Randi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers, is not a fan of school choice and it’s easy to see why. School choice is a direct threat to the power of teacher unions.
She recently went so far as to say that school choice undermines democracy, which is laughable.
FOX News reports:
Teacher union boss Randi Weingarten claims school choice ‘undermines democracy’The leader of one of the nation’s largest teachers unions was seen in a viral video saying that school choice “undermines democracy.”American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten made the remarks at the “Network for Public Education Action” national conference in October.A clip of her remarks blasting methods of school choice was shared on X and went viral on social media this week.In the video, Weingarten took aim at former White House Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo, and American Federation For Children Senior Fellow Corey DeAngelis for advocating for school choice measures.”They have not one thing that they offer as a solution other than privatizing or voucherizing schools which is about undermining democracy and undermining civil discourse and undermining pluralism because 90% of our kids go to public schools still,” she said. “They just divide. Divide. Divide. Divide.”School choice policies allow parents to send their kids to schools outside their neighborhood or opt out of going to the public school in their neighborhood. Most states restrict parents to schools within their zip code or the school district that presides over their residential area.
Watch below:
Weingarten is getting mocked for this on Twitter/X:
Everything the left supports is pro-democracy. Everything they’re against is a threat to democracy.
No one is buying Weingarten’s argument. From NBC News in Texas:
Proponents of school choice measures have rebuked Weingarten’s remarks, arguing offering more education options to families accomplishes the opposite of what the union leader claims.”This country was founded on the principle of individual rights. There is nothing democratic about forcing kids to remain in failing schools,” Angela Morabito, a spokesperson for the Defense of Freedom Institute (DFI) and former press secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, told Crisis in the Classroom (CITC). “The right choice for our country’s future is to allow families to access the schools where their children learn best.”“Randi’s utopia is to have every kid in America stuck in a classroom that prioritizes failing standards, identity politics, and frivolous days of the year over academic achievement,” Michele Exner, a senior advisor at Parents Defending Education (PDE) told CITC. “She was the champion of school closures and is one of the main reasons students are suffering from historic learning loss.”Recent polling suggests support for school choice is on the rise.
Funding should follow the student, not the school.
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