John Thompson: Politics and the Coronavirus in Oklahoma
John Thompson, historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma, contributes frequently here.
He writes:
If you want to get really depressed about today’s politics, look at the New York Times’ Upshot, which asked: Should Children Go Back to School? Sadly, the answer has been, “It depends in part on your politics.”
One source the Times cited was a Brookings Institute analysis of data which found that “politics, more than public health, was driving school districts’ reopening plans.” Brookings discovered:
No relationship between school districts’ plans and their counties’ infection rates. Instead, there was a strong correlation between a district’s plans and a county’s support for Mr. Trump in 2016.
We should all be horrified that President Trump and his supporters have put ideology and short term politics over the health of students. When we get through this nightmare, deep soul searching will be necessary as we CONTINUE READING: John Thompson: Politics and the Coronavirus in Oklahoma | Diane Ravitch's blog