Union Official Defends Closed Classrooms: Students Learning ‘Different Skills’ From Remote Learning

By Michael Graham, Delaware Valley Journal

February 17, 2021

During an interview with the Delaware Valley Journal, a union official said remote learning might actually be good for students locked out of local classrooms.

Norristown Area School District has not had any in-person instruction. While defending his union’s opposition to reopening classrooms, Education Associations of Norristown Area President Lee Spears suggested remote learning could be a blessing in disguise.

“I think there will be different skills that kids are going to learn,” said Spears. “Will it be a year when my students’ test scores go up through the roof? I don’t know. Are there other skills that kids are learning that they’ve probably never had the opportunity to learn before? Absolutely.”

Spears isn’t alone. As the data pour in showing remote learning costing students months of educational progress, more teachers union allies are promoting the premise that closed classrooms can be a benefit.

Just days ago, San Francisco school board president Gabriela Lopez said of the educational loss to students left out of her classrooms, “They’re just having different learning experiences than the ones we currently measure, and the loss is a comparison to a time when we were in a different space.”

It was a stance that has left some area parents stunned.

“I’ll admit — at first, I couldn’t believe it,” said Montgomery County mom Clarice Schillinger when she saw Spears comment at DVJournal.

“If you’ve ever listened to a 3rd trade class on Google Classroom — there is no learning going on. Zero,” ??? said. “And I can say that from firsthand experience.”

Colleen Hroncich, senior policy analyst with the Commonwealth Foundation, wasn’t impressed either.

“This is insensitive, to say the least,” she told DVJournal. ” First of all, Norristown students’ test scores weren’t through the roof even before this. In fact, four Norristown schools are in the bottom 15 percent of schools in the state. But beyond that, there are stories in the news every day about how many kids are struggling right now—academically, socially, and emotionally.

“For the president of a local teachers union to make light of those struggles—while teachers haven’t missed a paycheck—is really shocking. It’s also an excellent example of why we need more school choice in Pennsylvania. Especially when you consider that neighboring Penn Christian Academy, whose tuition is less than half what Norristown spends per student, is fully open.”

Many area private schools have been open with classroom instruction since the fall. According to Catholic Philly, around the country, upwards of “90 percent of Catholic schools have been open for in-person learning and working within sanctioned health guidelines.” There’s no evidence that decision has contributed to higher community spread of the coronavirus.

Instead, research continues to roll out showing remote learning simply isn’t necessary in the name of safety. Some teachers unions have responded to the science by ratcheting up the rhetoric. In Philadelphia, the threat of a strike looms over every effort to reopen classrooms.

With black and brown students suffering the most academically and socially from closed classrooms, how can unions defend their position? Schillinger also notes the picture of remote learning teachers unions present is often far from reality, even in the affluent communities of the Delaware Valley.

“They paint this picture that virtual learning is beautiful, that the children all have nice, clean rooms and the right devices and high-speed internet. It’s never four kids fighting over one device and struggling to get connected. They don’t talk about children who might get their only hot meal of the day when they go to school.”

Schillinger is part of a group of Hatboro-Horsham parents who’ve filed suit hosting to force schools to reopen, and have even started a political action committee t0 apply political pressure.

“It’s not just parents. We have a ton of teachers reaching out urging us to keep fighting. They tell us their union doesn’t represent them,” Schillinger said. “Virtual and hybrid learning is so much harder for the teachers who really care.”

The Delaware Valley Journal provides unbiased, local reporting for the Philadelphia suburbs of Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties. For more stories from the Delaware Valley Journal, visit DelawareValleyJournal.com