American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten admitted during an organization event that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the ongoing "mental health crisis" among youths, a clip shared by school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis on Twitter revealed.
In the snippet, Weingarten appears to ignore the close to $1.6 million in donations made by AFT's political action committee to pro-lockdown Democrats and left-wing causes during the dead heat of the school reopening debate in early 2021.
"Our kids are in crisis," the union leader said during the AFT-hosted "Social Media is Having Negative Effects on Kids and Teens" convention this week. "And we had a mental health crisis before COVID ... but for two years of disruption, two years of looking at the screens, two years of not having a normal kind of routine and rhythm, recovery is really tough."
"It's not a shock that a lot of kids, frankly a lot of adults, are still under tremendous stress and anxiety," she added.
The comments from Weingarten continue the ongoing shift in narrative from AFT on school lockdowns that began in the summer of 2021, according to the New York Post.
"In February, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was finally going to issue guidance urging full reopening of in-person schooling, the AFT successfully lobbied for language that kept schools closed," wrote NYP's Karol Markowicz.
"The next month, when the CDC finally did the same thing and changed its social-distancing guideline for schools to 3 feet (from 6), Weingarten wrote a letter questioning the change and demanding yet more 'safety' concessions," she added.
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