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We’ve seen this horror movie before. Multiple times. And every time we see it, it’s just as horrific as the previous time. And the time before that. Record numbers of suicides of school-age children as draconian school lockdowns continue across America.
From Nevada to Virginia to Wisconsin and other states across the country, the mental health crisis among kids locked out of their schools has been real for months. Presently, there’s no better example to illustrate the crisis than San Francisco.
As reported by USA Today on Friday, the number of suicidal children in San Francisco has hit a record high, and health experts say it is clear that keeping public schools closed “is catalyzing a mental health crisis among school-aged children.” As a result, the city filed an emergency court order Thursday in an effort to force its public schools to open their doors for in-person instruction.
San Francisco seeking an emergency court order against the city’s school district in order to compel the distict to reopen public schools. https://t.co/82GXDIoaHS
— KPIX 5 (@KPIXtv) February 11, 2021
The emergency request comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the city last week against the San Francisco Unified School District for “failing to come up with a reopening plan that meets state requirements,” according to a statement from City Attorney Dennis Herrera.
The SF School District’s failure to reopen for in-person instruction is unconscionable and unlawful. Almost a year of being isolated from classmates, friends and teachers is taking a terrifying emotional and educational toll on kids and their families. https://t.co/kYe5Fb5MI4
— SF City Attorney (@SFCityAttorney) February 12, 2021
Of the lawsuit Herrera said:
“The Board of Education and the school district have had more than 10 months to roll out a concrete plan to get these kids back in school. So far they have earned an F. Having a plan to make a plan doesn’t cut it.”
The University of California-San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital at Mission Bay reported record-high numbers of suicidal children seen and treated last month, according to the lawsuit:
“The UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital has seen a 66% increase in the number of suicidal children in the emergency room and a 75% increase in youth who required hospitalization for mental health services, the lawsuit said, quoting pediatricians, child psychiatrists, and emergency room doctors.”
It also quoted doctors citing an increase in anxiety, depression, and eating disorders among children, consistent with national data.
“Shockingly,” embattled San Francisco’s Democrat Mayor London Breed has been all over the board on reopening public schools.
We need an actual timeline for opening our classrooms this school year to full-time instruction. Our students and our families should have that certainty.
We can’t afford to let our children fall further behind. We need to safely reopen our public schools.https://t.co/d8Aycp6f4o
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) February 11, 2021
During a press conference on Thursday, as reported by News Break, Breed said the SFUSD and the teachers’ union — the United Educators of San Francisco — “need to immediately agree upon a timeline for reopening the city’s public school classrooms.”
See what she did there? “Immediately agree on a timeline.” Sounds so urgent, doesn’t it? But this is what she said just two days earlier:
“I don’t think it’s realistic that we can expect schools to open this year. “When you incorporate vaccine into the requirement, I understand this is something important to the union, but at the same time, we are doing everything we can based on supply to get vaccines to people in San Francisco.”
And there it is. The union. Never mind that multiple studies have found no significant transmission of the virus among children or from students to teachers. A May 2020 study of 2,000 children and teachers at a school in Germany found very few coronavirus antibodies among them, suggesting that “schools and young people do not play as big a role in transmission as previously feared.”
Let’s be honest.
Pretty good gig for teachers who are perfectly happy with virtual learning vs. in-school learning, isn’t it? I am not casting aspersion on America’s teachers, for whom I have tremendous respect; I could not do their jobs. I’m simply suggesting there are educators who exist — I know two of them, personally — who are perfectly fine with virtual learning.
Toss in a union and there you have it. Unions gonna union.
Speaking of which, Joe Biden has made the re-opening of the nation’s schools “one of his top priorities” for months. To that point, Jen “Circle Back” Psaki on Thursday said it’s understandable for parents to be unhappy with Biden’s goal of re-opening half of the nation’s schools just one day a week by late April.
In response to a question during Thursday’s White House briefing about “why should they be satisfied with that” goal after a full year of educational interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Psaki said: “They shouldn’t be. I wouldn’t be as a parent, and I am a parent, I should say, I have two young kids, and I know many of you have kids as well.”
SCHOOL REOPENING:
Question: Should American parents be satisfied with just one day of in-person school per week?
Jen Psaki: “They shouldn’t be. I wouldn’t be as a parent, and I am a parent, I should say. I have two young kids.” pic.twitter.com/UaoWuNrh3c
— Forbes (@Forbes) February 12, 2021
Ah, but:
“The president wants schools to open safely and in accord with science. And we are going to listen to science and medical experts — the CDC guidelines, we expect them to come out tomorrow.
“We are eager to hear more about the clear science-based guidelines for opening schools and how we can do that safely and how we can keep them open.
“The president will not rest until every school is open five days a week. That is our goal.”
“In accord with science.”
You ever notice how Democrats play the “science card” only when it aligns with their narrative? Me too. What about, as I wrote, above, study after study, all of which seem to come to the same conclusion? And have come to that same conclusion for at least ten months? Weren’t those studies “science”? So what’s the hold-up? In San Francisco? In Chicago? With Biden and his administration?
During a February 4 press briefing, Psaki said Biden wants to see America’s children back in classrooms, but she would not commit to Biden standing up to union obstruction.
Democrat priorities? Think about it.
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