Pointing fingers at union is not solution for schools
Regarding Debra J. Saunders' column blaming the teachers union for poor student performance: When one presumes to blame one specific entity in a complicated decision, it seems to smack of an agenda that is not visible to the rest of the readers.
National and state COVID decisions, lack of attendance, parental supervision, the value of an education, administrative and school board decisions are really the discussion that begs to be investigated. Yes, the teachers unions did side with the closing of schools along with the parents, administrations, and school boards. Speaking as a parent and a teacher at the time, I, too, agreed.
During the pandemic, teaching was the hardest work I have ever done trying to engage students when they didn't have to be visible on the screen. Parents could not or did not always supervise or check their student's work. It was all online: the grades, the missing assignments, the students' participation or lack of participation.
By the way, did you notice that COVID increases as soon as school starts? Did you think that change is what is always needed in most things such as politics, laws, education, production in industry, social media and cultural boundaries? By blaming one entity is what has happened to the teaching profession.
It is hard now to fill the teaching vacancies. Maybe that is what should be looked at and investigated. The unions that teachers belong to give us a voice as well as our votes for our local school board.
There is plenty of blame to share, and I often wonder what I could have done to make teaching during COVID better. We all need to learn to ask better questions and see the many sides of every problem and seek solutions that will benefit all rather than point fingers.
Jane Besch
Elgin
'Mug shot' tells all
Seeing Donald Trump's "mug shot" should tell you that he doesn't take all his pending problems seriously - even with his "mean face" on his mug shot. The worst thing that could possibly hurt Trump is to be banned from the news. Without the press feeding his ego, Trump is nothing but a windbag, - a troublemaking one, to be sure, but hot air anyway.
Raleigh Sutton
Elgin