The head of the second-largest teachers' union in the U.S. has been mocked for lamenting the damage from two years of remote learning - a policy which she promoted.
Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, on Tuesday hosted a Facebook Live discussion entitled: 'Social Media is Having Negative Effects on Kids and Teens.'
Weingarten, 64, began by noting how two years of inconsistent schooling during the pandemic have harmed students, pointing out the toll on mental health and learning.
She noted that May is Mental Health Awareness Month.
'Our kids are in crisis,' she said. 'And we had a mental health crisis before COVID - but for two years of disruption, two years of looking at the screens, two years of not having a normal kind of routine and rhythm, recovery is really tough.
'It's not a shock that a lot of kids, frankly a lot of adults, are still under tremendous stress and anxiety.'
Randi Weingarten is seen on Tuesday speaking during a Facebook Live discussion, under the headline 'Social Media is Having Negative Effects on Kids and Teens'
A teacher is pictured at Stark Elementary School in Stamford, Connecticut, in September 2020, during an experiment in hybrid learning - part in class, part remote. Weingarten on Tuesday admitted the disruption had been damaging
Weingarten's views on school re-openings and remote learning have fluctuated.
In January 2021, she wrote a letter urging New York to resume remote learning, amid a COVID-19 surge.
Yet four months later, in May 2021, she was demanding that all public school classrooms reopen.
'There is no doubt: Schools must be open. In person. Five days a week. With the space and facilities to do so,' she said.
'We know that's how kids learn best and that prolonged isolation is harmful.'
Yet Weingarten's critics seized on Tuesday's remarks, pointing out that in February 2021 her union had corresponded with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pushing for language that appeared to delay the reopening of schools.
Emails show Weingarten lobbying the CDC to tighten their policy, managing to include an opt-put for schools in high-transmission areas, and secure remote work concessions for teachers 'who have documented high-risk conditions or who are at increased risk for COVID-19'.
Corey DeAngelis, national director of research at the American Federation for Children, described her remarks as 'peak gaslighting'.
'Teachers unions fought to keep public schools closed for over a year,' he told Fox News.
'At least six studies have found that school districts with stronger teachers unions were significantly less likely to reopen in person. These union-induced school closures hurt kids socially, mentally, and academically.
'Randi Weingarten's union even lobbied the CDC on school reopening guidance to prolong school closures.
'Teachers unions constantly engaged in fear mongering and hypocrisy, while private schools, daycares, and other businesses reopened.'
Many took
