Union boss Randi Weingarten may have thought she dished out a sick burn of Flordia Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), but his rapid response director Christina Pushaw was quick to dispel that notion when she laid down ordinance over who really “fears education.”
As president of the American Federation of Teachers, Weingarten has demonstrated where her priorities reside with the prominent display of the Ukraine flag before all else in her Twitter bio. Saturday, she followed her misguided instincts toward the latest political slight against the conservative governor’s education reforms only to appear as an April fool.
“A great nation does not fear the education of its citizens. All of its citizens. I wonder what people like Gov DeSantis are afraid of,” she captioned an article that endeavored to decry his efforts to depoliticize curriculum the same week he signed a universal school voucher program into law. It also tried to paint her as a hero when her leading solution has repeatedly been to throw more money at doing the same failed measures.
Weingarten’s tweet didn’t go unchecked for long as Pushaw quote tweeted the reply restricted post, “Governor DeSantis opened schools in 2020. Meanwhile, you opposed him relentlessly and fought to deny kids the right to go to school for over a year after FL was back to normal. Who really ‘fears education’?”
https://twitter.com/ChristinaPushaw/status/1642203772184043525
Of course, Pushaw’s callback to Weingarten’s repeated insistence that schools remained closed in contrast to DeSantis’ move to reopen learning institutions was only worsened by fiscal priorities.
The article pointed out Florida “ranks 44th in per-pupil spending and 48th in average teacher pay,” but said nothing of the performance of Sunshine State students when compared to the nation where, as previously reported, lockdowns “widened disparities in achievement between high and low-poverty schools.
Furthermore, a user pointed out “Randi makes around $560,000.00 a year. From teacher’s dues. Maybe she is trying to keep the gravy train going?” prompting Pushaw to reply “Wow no kidding?!”
https://twitter.com/ChristinaPushaw/status/1642222694732275714
That compensation dated back to 2019 according to a Fox News review of tax documents and remained roughly seven times higher than the average teacher’s salary.
The gaslighting is strong with this one, Christina. She actually claims to have the children’s best interests at heart. Imagine?
— Getty’s Uncle (@red_barchetta2) April 1, 2023
Neither I nor anyone I know “fears education”.
What I fear are people like @rweingarten standing in the way of an open and honest education system by opposing any and all school choice.— Lars Kerch (@LarsKerch) April 1, 2023
In addition to calling out Weingarten’s claim about DeSantis’ fear, other users backed up Pushaw by sharing their own experience with lockdowns and highlighting how the governor’s response rivaled that of other states where children suffered academically from remote classes and unscientific, developmentally damaging measures like masking.
The US school response was criminal. Schools in EU opened back up in Spring 2020 and there were no sudden rise in cases. Some US schools remained closed for 18 months while teachers demanded social justice changes that had nothing to do with Covid.
— NW_Conservative (@fishing_nw) April 1, 2023
Since Randi turns off comments, I’ll comment here. I’m a Florida mom. My kids returned to school in 2020, the day they were able, camp that summer also thanks to Gov. DeSantis. No COVID. No depression. Their educational path never deviated. They were ahead of their peers.
— Smug Potato (@PotatoSmug) April 1, 2023
Our county in GA went back to in-person instruction at 50% for the first half of the 20-21 school year and said “Let’s just see what happens”. We were back to 100% after the Christmas break that year. Meanwhile the next county over was still doing some silly hybrid thing.
— JawjaJim (@JimJawja) April 1, 2023
The irony is that school closures is what opened our eyes to what’s going on in the classroom.
Too many parents had no idea until then.
— Bert Maverick (@PalmettoLoon) April 1, 2023
Expecting Weingarten to not embarrass herself on this issue might be asking a bit much after years of stubbornness and her last foray into targeting America’s Governor where she took aim with an error filled tweet that read, “DeSantis should be fixated on the cost of living issues in Fla- housing is unaffordable, home insurance even worse, but instead he is expanding gun access, defunding, public schools, & banning everything he dislikes- teachers, journalists & the vulnerable.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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