On Tuesday evening, the Chicago Teachers’ Union voted to end all in-person classes at all Chicago public schools. Parents had to search for babysitters or other accommodation to care for their children throughout the school day. Wednesday night’s edition of NBC Nightly News decided to take the side of the teachers’ union, suggesting kids could die otherwise.
While all three network newscasts covered the vote, NBC’s coverage was the most favorable toward the corrupt Chicago teachers’ union. Lester Holt presented the segment and then passed it to Stephanie Gosk, his reporter, for her report.
There were many soundbites from different people interviewed to create these news package stories. The first such video was of an unidentified Chicago parent who expressed his displeasure with the teachers’ union’s decision:
This was something we had planned for all winter break. The kids get caught between the lines and parents, like me, are trying to secure coverage.
Rest of segment was just a puff piece for unions. There was one clip with Lori Lightfoot (Chicago Mayor) who attacked the decision. She also expressed her concerns about the impact on parents.
This remote processing can cause significant disruption to parents who are working.
Once Gosk had gotten that over with, it was time for propaganda. The leftist NBC News correspondent aired Chicago public school teacher Keyonna Payton’s gripe about not feeling safe to go back to work. Payton claimed that she’s been able to go back to work after all the stress. “a 90-year-old grandmother with underlying health conditions and issues.”She continued to whine: “And so I would just appreciate being able to work in an environment where at least the students are all PCR tested weekly.”
Gosk, in an apparent attempt to justify the vote reported “Omicron is straining school systems to their limits. It is difficult to locate rapid tests. PCR results are delayed.”
She then aired a video of NBC medical contributor Dr. Kavita Patel, also taking the side of the teachers’ unions:
Without adequate testing you can’t keep schools open without accepting the risk that as many as half your students may be positive.
Patel suggested that kids might die if their school went to school, as a fearmonger. “Keeping the schools open at all costs means that you are not acknowledging that all costs involves lives,” she claimed despite the fact Omicron was a very mild variant.
More than one CBS Evening NewsThe network also reported on the Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, which was slightly less balanced. “canceled all classes but threw parents a lifeline. She kept school doors open so children had a place to get their meals and stay if needed.”
CBS also aired a statement Lightfoot gave after the teachers union’s vote which demonstrated how devastating canceling in-person learning is for public school children:
Our children were affected when our area was completely remote. This is a fact that can’t be denied. In elementary schools, we saw three times as many failures on learning and tests. This was almost entirely attributable to black, brown, and poor children in our district.
If the Chicago teachers union truly cared about the lives of children, they would stop panicking over a virus that’s been shown to have little to no effect on them, and worry about what will happen to these children when they’re forced to spend the school day out on the dangerous streets of Chicago. Is this a more risky scenario for the children?
This segment of NBC News carrying water for the teachers’ unions was brought to you by PrevagenAnd Swiffer (Proctor & Gamble). You can link their information to let them know of biased news that they are funding.
To read the relevant transcript of this segment click “expand”:
NBC Nightly News
1/5/2022
7:05 PM
LESTER HOLT : This is causing major disruptions to the nation’s schools. As omicron is spread and testing fails, it has a domino effect on parents, teachers and students. Stephanie Gosk provides late details.
STEPHANIE GOSK NBC NEWS CONTENT (STEPHANIE GOSK): In Chicago, the school doors suddenly closed late last night. This caused chaos for thousands of Chicagoans.
PARENT: It was our winter vacation to plan this, so here we are. The kids get caught between the lines and parents, like me, are trying to secure coverage.
GOSK – Concerned by rising COVID and inadequate testing, Chicago’s teachers’ union voted for remote representation.
KEYONNA PAYTON, CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOL TEACHER: My grandmother is 90 years old and has underlying medical issues. So I’d appreciate the opportunity to teach in an environment that at least all students have been PCR tested every week.
GOSK
MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT – We must not forget how disconcerting this remote process can be to parents who are working.
GOSK – Late today, news broke that plans were being made to be remote next week so we can return by 18th. The number of disruptions at schools nationwide has risen dramatically in the first week after the holiday. Over 4,500. There were only 28 in October. This is still quite small when compared to last year. Omicron, however, is pushing school systems to the limits. It is difficult to locate rapid tests. Results from PCR can take up to two weeks.
DR. KAVITA PATAL: Without adequate testing you can’t keep a school safe. You must accept that half your students may be positive, and you don’t know it.
GOSK: The vaccine is available to most school-aged children. Just over half (12 to 17 years old) are fully vaccinated. For 5 to 11 year-olds, the rate is less than 16% In record numbers, teachers and staff have been sick. There are more than a thousand people in Boston. Today the superintendent was able to jump into action and teach a fourth-grade class.
BRENDA CASELLIUS, BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: We are so excited to have you here to share the extraordinary all-hands approach that we take here.
GOSK – Unlike the initial pandemic outbreak, the effort is much greater to ensure that children remain in school.
GOSK: Some people believe that schools should be kept open at all cost. Are they really that tenable?
PATEL: No. You aren’t acknowledging the fact that schools must be open at all cost.
The outlook for January in school districts struggling to hold it together is dire. Experts believe that the case load will rise over weeks. Lester?
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