Randi Weingarten takes flak on social media for Ukraine trip as US schools struggle
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Randi Weingarten: Very few teachers go into the profession wanting to be ‘social justice warriors’ but politicians cause them to be one
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American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten faced criticism from some on social media for taking a trip to Ukraine while many U.S. schools are floundering.
“Woke up this am to reports of disgusting Russian missile strikes in Kyiv, Lviv & other cities,” Weingarten tweeted Monday morning. “Heading to the border now to assess the situation. This Russian attempt to frighten civilians & the effect on children (who are learning online today) is why this [Ukraine flag emoji] trip is so important.”
Weingarten is joining pediatrician and public health activist Dr. Irwin Redlener, Karen Redlener and Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum in Ukraine this week to meet with Ukrainian students and teachers displaced by the war. The group went “to offer solidarity and support in the face of relentless attacks that have forced hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee the country’s east,” according to a press release from the AFT.
“The AFT was invited by the Ukrainian teachers union, the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers, to bear witness and call attention to the effects on children, families and educators and the impact of Russia’s attacks on democracy and democratic institutions,” the press release explained.
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Some on Twitter questioned the optics of Weingarten going abroad when so many students in the U.S. continue to struggle in the wake of the pandemic’s school closures.
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“Why is the president of the American Federation of Teachers in Ukraine while our kids’ schools are failing?” asked Post Millennial editor-in-chief Libby Emmons.
“What the F can you even do at the Ukr/Rus border, Randi? Shouldn’t you be busy trying to criminalize parents who want school choice?” wrote journalist Ian Miles Cheong, who also recalled an apparently since-deleted tweet showing Weingarten holding a Ukrainian flag upside-down.
“Now, I’m really sad that PJ O’Rourke isn’t around to join this trip,” tweeted National Review senior writer Dan McLaughlin.
Former congressional candidate Shukri Abdirahman tweeted: “What business does the teachers’ union boss have heading to the Russia/Ukraine border? And since when has anyone in her role had the job description to ‘assess’ active war zones? Unreal.”
“‘To assess the situation,'” tweeted journalist Charles C.W. Cooke. “Er, why?”
“America’s students need you on the front lines of K-12,” journalist Caroline Downey tweeted at Weingarten. “Here’s a crisis you should feel compelled to address: math and literacy proficiency plummeted this year due to school closures you supported. You desert children when you put union politics and other issues above education.”
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“Why is the leader of a teacher’s union trying to assess the situation? And what the hell is she doing in Ukraine?” asked prominent Twitter user Comfortably Smug. “Lmao this is what teachers are paying union dues for? Randi to have a vacation in a war zone?”
“As Putin tries to take a blowtorch to democracy, we stand in solidarity with the educators, students and families in Ukraine,” said Weingarten. “They are fighting against Russian aggression to uphold their democracy, their freedom and their self-determination—and after nearly eight months of conflict their righteous resistance grows stronger each day.”
“The war’s effect on kids and families has been brutal, and the Ukrainian teachers’ persistence, compassion and bravery in helping students continue their learning in an active war zone should be lifted up and championed.”
The AFT did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the criticism.