One can perhaps excuse the schools for shutting down in the very early days of the pandemic, when little was known about the virus, and what little we did know was based largely on whatever questionable data the communist regime in China allowed the rest of the world to see. But it quickly became obvious to anyone with a clear and honest mind that, of all institutions in the country, schools are probably among the safest. The early data, on this score at least, held up: children are not as likely to contract or spread the virus as older people. If they do manage to get infected, there is a very good chance they will have mild symptoms, or no symptoms at all.
Schools could have and should have reopened as soon as these facts became clearer. But many, as we approach nearly a year of shutdowns, are still closed. This is thanks in large part to the teachers unions, who have all but explicitly taken a “your child’s education be damned” stance, making demands and then endlessly shifting the goalposts in an apparent effort to ensure that they are never met. The Washington Post has an appropriately critical editorial about the school board and teachers union in Fairfax County and its desperate attempt to ensure that teachers get paid to stay home indefinitely.
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