We keep hearing from those who work in the public schools about the importance of education, and exceptionally few Americans would disagree with the general concept. An overwhelming majority of Americans would also agree that children and teens belong in the classroom. Former vice president Kamala Harris believed that kids belonged in school so strongly, she prosecuted parents of truant children.
Which raises the question of whether schools in Minneapolis should close today and Friday as a response to the ICE shooting incident in the city.
Out of an abundance of caution, there will be no school on Thursday, Jan. 8 and Friday, Jan. 9 due to safety concerns related to today’s incidents around the city. All MPS-sponsored programs, activities, athletics and Community Education classes, including adult education, will be canceled. The district will not move to e-learning because that is only allowable for severe weather.
What are the “safety concerns related to today’s incidents around the city” that Minneapolis Public Schools is referring to? Are they fearing riots? Anti-ICE protests getting violent? Is this some sort of nonsense that teachers and students are afraid to go to school, for fear of being shot by ICE agents?
Minneapolis Public School District contains 98 schools and 29,063 students, over an area that is roughly 59 square miles. The city can’t guarantee the safety of any student in any of those schools?
No wonder the rest of the country is looking at the city of Minneapolis in shock and disgust. The city cancels school, one of the city’s basic duties, over a federal law enforcement controversy.