Teachers union leader Randi Weingarten claimed Thursday that it was politicians who have turned teachers into “social justice warriors.”
Parents and teachers want to focus on what is best for the children, Weingarten said during a town hall with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, but restrictions on books and answering controversial questions have led to burnout.
“Very few teachers thought that they were going into teaching to be social justice warriors,” Weingarten said, according to Fox News. “That has been what has created some of the burnout. And that’s not parents. That’s politicians. Parents just want the best for their kids. And so do the teachers.”
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Weingarten added that a lack of respect for teachers has contributed to the teaching shortage.
“It has not been easy, not just the last two years, but the inequity, the injustice, the lack of opportunity, the lack of a level playing field,” Weingarten said. “And teachers are essentially the first responders to all this, and what they ask for is they ask for respect. People would want to be teachers if they knew they’d be respected.”
Weingarten’s comments came the day after national test scores revealed a 7-point drop in learning mathematics and a 5-point drop in reading for students at the age of 9 compared to 2020. However, students across all demographics saw a decline in test scores.
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“This is the largest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first ever score decline in mathematics,” the Nation’s Report Card reads.
