Chicago schools delayed the start of the academic year by a week so students could attend the DNC instead, and the district now faces the fallout. And why wouldn’t people be upset? The Democratic National Convention was explicitly cited as the reason for the delay, and the district encouraged the displaced students to “attend, volunteer, and participate in the civic process of hosting the convention.” From violent clashes between police and protesters to Planned Parenthood actively working the crowd, offering free vasectomies and abortions, what could be more kid-friendly?
Who Needs School in Chicago?
Kids in the Windy City return to school today, Monday, August 26, after a one-week delay to the regularly scheduled academic year. But hey, what’s a single week of school compared to an event that hasn’t taken place since before anyone in the K-12 system was born? The last time the convention took place in Chicago was 28 years ago in 1996 – making it a once-in-an-academic-career event. There’s a good chance many of these kids will be grandparents by the next time that particular show comes to town.
However, local students still haven’t recovered from the educational loss incurred during the pandemic panic. Chicago reacted to COVID-19 more aggressively than many locales. Schools didn’t reopen from the pandemic shutdown until August 30, 2021 – after more than 500 days of closure. They closed again in 2022 due to a teacher strike and the omicron variant. Enrollment and attendance, even in the online classes, dropped drastically. Even in the 2022-2023 school year, Chicago had the worst absenteeism rate of the biggest five districts in the country.
“In Chicago, 40% of students missed at least 18 days of school last school year,” Hillary Gowins, senior vice president of the Illinois Policy Institute, wrote in April 2024. Coming in second was Clark County (Nevada) schools at 38%, followed by New York City at 36%, with Los Angeles Unified and Miami-Dade County (Florida) tied at 31%.
Test scores dropped off in 2020 drastically as well, which probably surprises precisely no one. While scores were up a bit in 2023, they still remained lower than in 2019, before all this mess began.
School’s Out for … Partisan Politics?
This isn’t the first time Chicago teachers found themselves in the hot seat over pushing political indoctrination over education. In March, Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jackson Potter sent out a notice for students about an upcoming Democrat rally, urging them to skip school and attend.
“On March 15, Chicago Teachers Union is partnering with Chicago Votes, La Casa Norte, and Bring Chicago Home to throw the biggest celebration of youth participating in democracy Chicago has seen in years. On the morning of March 15, students will gather at CTU Headquarters & hear from candidates/political organizers, collaborate with young voters from other schools, & participate in engaging events including art, music, and dance,” Potter wrote.
Friday, March 15, 2024, was a school day, of course.
Donald Trump attended the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, which ran from July 31 to August 4. Where was the school closure or call for students to cut class to attend that educational but also very political event?
Randi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers, was a keynote speaker during the DNC. Could that have anything to do with the school district remaining closed an extra week and directing students to the event? Chi-Town does have an interesting history with the teachers’ unions. Mayor Brandon Johnson, for example, was previously a local union organizer.
A Great Place for Kids?
But all politics aside, isn’t it true that attending such an event is educational? Of course! What better way to learn civics than to see it in action? But had the goal been actual education, why was it handled as it was? Wouldn’t it be far better to open during the week of the DNC, then take the entire high school on a field trip to the event – taking breaks for actual instruction between speeches and balancing the politics by explaining that what students are hearing is just one part of the equation – one side of the political aisle?
And even then, the DNC didn’t turn out to be a very kid-friendly place this year – and remember, this isn’t just the high school, like in the hypothetical above; it’s the entire K-12 system. Regardless of what was said and done inside, outside Planned Parenthood advertised and offered free abortions and vasectomies. That’s hardly something most parents want their teens exposed to, never mind their five-year-olds.
(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Then there’s the actual physical safety issue. Again, remember that the school district suggested kids use their extra time off to attend and that the post didn’t say “except for the really young ones – this is for the big kids only.” There were thousands of protesters outside the venue demonstrating, and not necessarily always in a polite fashion. Then there were the clashes with police. Overall, 72 people were arrested – but 55 of those arrests came on a single day after a massive fight between cops and demonstrators. Who thinks sending kids of any age into what is essentially a war zone is wise?
Whether driven by blatant political bias or merely a misguided desire to give kids some “real world learning,” urging students to attend the DNC rather than class comes across as quite the gaffe. There was a lot to learn by watching the event this year, it’s true – but maybe it isn’t the best course of study for children.
