Back to school in America is an unprecedented chaos

Are you fighting to wear a chin strap or not, Parents moving out of state to avoid restrictions… Sharp political polarization in the United States is reaching schools as millions of students return to the classroom face-to-face after more than a year at home from the pandemic.

Although the restrictions in the country largely depend on the states, some of them already Make those learning centers flexibleThis September is the first since 2020 that nearly all American schools have reopened.

However, the usual smiles of the first days of school cannot be seen because children must wear chin straps at all times, as must their teachers; something that Some parents resentBecause of the prevailing politicization in the United States regarding the use of this garment.

Teachers for chinstraps

The National Teachers Association of America (NEA), the largest teachers’ union with more than 450,000 active members, has shown, In favor of using chinstraps.

Among other actions, the NEA decried the complex situations many of its teachers had to face in front of students’ parents.

Indeed, in recent weeks, the agency has received reports of parents who went to break teachers’ masks, and who insulted them for “forcing” them to use such protections.

In an interview with the EFE Agency, the Secretary and Treasurer of this organization, Noel Almanac, lamented that “unfortunately” parents do all this in front of their children: “It’s a very bad example‘, he confirmed.

In the face of these incidents, Kalandia, a special education teacher, insisted that the association wanted schools open, and “for this, students should return to the classroom in such a way that they can be inside” without worrying about injury.

Insults and insults to parents

Political polarization is a theme that is also felt in the school environment. In states like Florida, where there is a Republican governor, try it Mandatory chin strap use banned in schools.

On the other hand, in the Los Angeles school district, which is controlled by Democrats, I ordered everyone to be vaccinated. Students over the age of twelve.

Two examples of the country’s division, which is also reflected in the decision made by many families who, in the face of the anxiety and stress caused by the prolonged lockdown, chose to change their status in search of Bigger controls or open schools.

Such is the case of Andrew, a father of three who asked not to be named, who this month decided to stay in North Florida to start the course rather than return to Washington, D.C., where they resided, because “the enormous uncertainty remains.”

Homeschooling grows

“I feel like we’ve been so hard on the kids,” he told EFE. “We’ve forgotten the importance of education.”

In Texas, other parents decided to postpone their children’s entry to school and did so Choose to teach at home, which is an increasingly common method in the United States.

“We decided to wait a little bit longer and focus on learning at home until the cases were gone, as we’ve seen that children of their age are getting infected at a high rate,” Justin Adoy, a father of two, explained to Efe. and three years.

According to data from educational organization Ed Source, about 35,000 California families have filed an affidavit in recent months to open a private school in their home of five or fewer students. More than double that in the 2018-2019 school year, before the epidemic.

This contradiction has arisen in the opinions and strategies of parents and public institutions Unprecedented chaos Back in schools in the United States, a country where political polarization has reached the offices of the youngest.

Source: EFE