‘Not a competition’: Teachers union president can’t answer if parents care more about their kids’ education

The president of the second largest teachers union could not answer a question on who cares more, parents or teachers, about a child’s education, during a Wednesday Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing.

Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan asked American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten twice if parents care more about their child’s education than a teacher does, during a Wednesday Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing. Weingarten did not answer the question, instead insisting that both parents and teachers care about a child and play an important role in a student’s life.

“Who cares more about a child’s education, the teachers union or the child’s parents?” Jordan asked Weingarten.

“I would say that teachers, parents and teachers, care about kids,” Weingarten said. “Obviously parents care about their own kids more than probably anyone else but teachers and parents are real partners in a child’s education.”

Jordan followed up Weingarten’s response by asking if she believes that parents care more about a child’s education.

“Look, I’m not here to be in a competition,” Weingarten responded. “Parents are so important in child[ren]’s lives. Teachers are so important in child[ren]’s lives too.”

Parents, school districts and lawmakers across the country are battling for a say in children’s education; while honoring the 2023 National teacher of the year on Monday President Joe Biden said that the nation’s children belong to everyone. In Maryland, parents pushed back against a school board that refused to give them the choice to opt their children out of lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Weingarten was testifying Wednesday on the effects of school shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role she and the AFT played in closing schools. The hearing aimed to examine how the AFT and Weingarten worked with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in drafting guidance on school closures.

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