MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough says teachers should “quit” their jobs if they do not want to teach in classrooms after the Chicago Teachers Union voted to switch to remote learning due to concerns about COVID-19.
During a segment of “Morning Joe” Wednesday, Scarborough addressed the switch to remote learning, “If you don’t want to teach, don’t teach. Quit. Just stay at home and stop teaching children, okay?”
“Because when you set up that barrier to getting back to class when health care officials say that you can still be testing positive 30 days after, well if that’s your standard, you are either ignorant when it comes to science, or you just don’t want to be in classes,” he continued.
Finally, he said, “And if you don’t want to be in classes, that’s fine. Listen, thank you for your service to our children. Now go get another job.”
Watch the video below:
"If you don't want to teach, don't teach. Quit. Just stay at home and stop teaching children, okay? … You are either ignorant when it come to science or you just don't want to be in classes."
— The Recount (@therecount) January 5, 2022
— @JoeNBC on Chicago teachers voting for switch to remote learning amid Omicron surge pic.twitter.com/2FOXVcddLd
His comments come after the Chicago Public Schools canceled classes for Wednesday following a vote by members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) to switch to remote learning as coronavirus cases surge.
In a tweet Tuesday night, the CTU said, “Starting tomorrow, all CTU members at CPS schools should be working remotely. The result of tonight’s vote was 73 percent in favor of the remote-work-only job action.”
“The action will end when one of the following conditions is met: The current surge in cases substantially subsides, or the mayor’s team at CPS signs an agreement establishing conditions for return that are voted on and approved by the CTU House of Delegates,” it added.
The action will end when one of the following conditions is met: The current surge in cases substantially subsides, or the mayor's team at CPS signs an agreement establishing conditions for return that are voted on and approved by the the CTU House of Delegates.
— Chicago Teachers Union (@CTULocal1) January 5, 2022
Additionally, it said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the CPS “have yet to provide safety for the overwhelming majority of schools.”
Finally, the CTU said, “Thousands of our members are CPS parents. To other parents and guardians of this city, we want you to know that when you put your children in our care, we put their well-being and safety first. We fight for your children like they are our own, because when we teach, they are.”
“We understand the frustration that is felt by tonight’s decision, and assure families that we will continue to work diligently, as we have for the past 21 months, to encourage the mayor and her CPS team to at last commit to enforceable COVID-19 protections centered on safety,” it added.
We understand the frustration that is felt by tonight’s decision, and assure. families that we will continue to work diligently, as we have for the past 21 months, to encourage the mayor and her CPS team to at last commit to enforceable COVID-19 protections centered on safety.
— Chicago Teachers Union (@CTULocal1) January 5, 2022
While the CTU raised concerns about the safety of the schools amid the ongoing pandemic, Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said at a press conference on Tuesday, “There is no evidence that our schools are unsafe.”
And Chicago Health Department Commissioner Allison Arwady argued that if students are vaccinated against the virus “this is behaving really like the flu and we don’t close school districts, especially for extended periods of time, for the flu.”
“I remain extremely comfortable with children continuing in-person education,” Arwady added.
