And the rural Aledo School District where the child attended school is one of the school systems in Texas that has the highest level of students in-school during the pandemic. They even were holding high school and middle school football games. Trying to blame COVID policy for this tragedy is absurd. https://www.facebook.com/Aledoisd/
The point is unions are not holding 100% of the power. In some districts the unions are just complaining that the county wants schools open but the schools are in shitty condition and were never addressed. In other districts they are drawing a line and refuse to go back at all. You cannot lump them all in as being bad guys without going and seeing what they are dealing with. In Washington D.C. for example, some schools don't even have working bathrooms or soap dispensers so how are kids supposed to wash their hands properly. Sometimes the unions are raising valid points, they are not always just being asses. the issue cannot be whitewashed across the whole country. Some school districts have not lifted a finger to do anything or even prioritize teachers for vaccines. In some cases teachers are just tired of being taken advantage of. IN other cases the unions are being stubborn and trying to hold everything up. most of the unions are objecting in the cities in the poorer areas where the city has never did much to improve the safety of the buildings like in Philly and Chicago.
First, do you know the diagnosis of that child and what school he went to? Do you know when it was opened and how long that child had to stay home? You're a total idiot if you think the crisis had nothing to do with his psychological issues (we know you're an idiot anyway, incidentally) but you have no idea of the dynamics of this. The article indicates there was a connection. If you don't believe it (don't want to) then that's fine. But to suggest children aren't suffering from depression, anxiety or suicide because of COVID isolation - that people in general aren't - is pure stupidity. I wouldn't expect anything less from you. You gotta be you.
If you don't want to share the city/state, then there's no way for me to determine whether or not - and to what extent - the union has power over that decision. I never said they had 100% of the power everywhere. I said they were the deciding factor in most cases where they have the power. And they are.
Holmdel, NJ BOE rejects teacher union call for virtual classes to continue https://patch.com/new-jersey/holmdel-hazlet/holmdel-boe-rejects-teachers-union-call-remote-learning Middletown NJ had same issue but recently went back to hybrid model. On Tuesday, Superintendent Jonathan Ponds announced that the district is planning to sue the local teachers union, the Montclair Education Association (MEA), in an attempt to reopen for in-person classes. Northern VA counties which have some of the largest school population densities is going back by early March in staggered plan. Upsate NY has had classes for some time (know a teacher there). Why does it matter what places I mention? You will just say the union has no power that is why and where they are holding it up the union has power.....convenient argument but as I just proved above, it depends on the BoE and county government if they are willing to stand up and tell the union, sorry but if we meet the health requirements, school is back on with restrictions. union can object but local goverment has the power and in several counties they stood up and kids are back in school.
I won't just say the union has no power. I'll genuinely look to see if the union has a lot of power in your city/state. If its one of the exceptions, then it is one of the exceptions. the fact of the matter is that the teacher's union has immense power in some places, and that power is exerted upon the Board of Education. You claim it is the BoE that makes the decisions, and you're right. But if you think the Teacher's Union isn't pressuring the BoE in the places it has a stranglehold and almost always convincing the BoE accordingly, you're deluding yourself.
If a child cannot stay home from school for a mere four weeks (March to April) without being completely depressed then there are other pre-existing underlying problems the child is suffering from --- that were in place before the school closed. The problems should have been recognized and the child placed under medical care for depression, etc. well before the school closed due to COVID. I fully understand the family's grief at losing their child due to depression. The NY Post trying to frame this as being due to COVID polices to drive their typical political narrative is a stretch.
So you know for a fact this child was only home for four weeks? Because if that is the case, then there is definitely an underlying issue beyond COVID. But if we can say an 85 year old with cancer and diabetes who has COVID died from COVID, then we can say a kid who has depression also died from COVID isolation.
There is plenty of information on the date the school system closed in Texas in March 2020 and the date the child died available on online. The boy died on April 17th. The school district closed the week of March 23rd.
What school did the child go to? Did he opt for in-person learning or virtual? What if he was a sports player and his sports were canceled because of COVID? What if he was in band and band was canceled? And so on. You're just guessing.