Teacher’s union boss Randi Weingarten mocked for gushing Biden has done more for schools than FDR

The president of the American Federation of Teachers has been mocked for making a gushing endorsement of President Joe Biden saying that he had done more for schools than Franklin D Roosevelt.

Union boss Randi Weingarten was speaking at a virtual educators appreciation event in Washington D.C. on Monday, hosted by First Lady Jill Biden.

She made the sensational claim that Biden had done more than FDR – who was known for implementing several initiatives that aimed to help American students, including the National Youth Administration fund for low-income families. 

Weingarten, before being mocked on social media for the comments, told the event: ‘I want to just say for a second what you and what the president has done. I can’t even remember all the mnemonics of all the things that have been done. 

Union boss Randi Weingarten (right) was speaking at a virtual educators appreciation event hosted by First Lady Jill Biden (left)

President Biden was slammed by people on social media for ‘widening the achievement gaps’ in education

FDR, who died in 1945, was known for implementing several programs and initiatives that aimed to improve schools and educational opportunities for American students

‘I’m a history teacher. It is more than any other president since FDR and maybe more than FDR.’

Her comparisons between the presidents led to her being mocked on Twitter. 

‘More than FDR? Wtf has he done at all?’ asked one user.

‘More to widen the achievement gaps, hurt disadvantaged kids’ in every way but especially academically, drive kids to a record level of mental health crises, increase childhood obesity, and decrease community engagement? Yes, I agree,’ tweeted another commenter sarcastically. 

‘She’s a disgrace to education,’ chimed one Twitter user. 

‘What a joke,’ added another.  

Weingarten, 64, was re-elected president of the country’s second largest teacher’s union, AFT, earlier this year.  

First lady Jill Biden speaks at an educator appreciation event with the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association as NEA president Becky Pringle, left, and AFT president Randi Weingarten listen

Weingarten’s comments comparing Biden to FDR led to her being roundly mocked on Twitter

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On Weingarten’s watch the AFT has pushed back against schools re-opening post Covid-19, flown in the face of CDC guidelines by foisting mask mandates on school districts and promoted a progressive agenda that includes the tenets of Critical Race Theory turning classrooms into frontlines in an increasingly divisive political and cultural war.

Weingarten has been involved in several high-profile political debates surrounding education policy, including the use of standardized testing, charter schools, and teacher evaluations. 

Some people believe that her positions on these issues are not in the best interests of students and teachers, while others support her efforts to protect the rights of educators and improve the quality of education in the country. 

The AFT leader stands accused of obfuscation when it comes to the place of Critical Race Theory in classrooms.

The AFT and the fellow union National Education Association (NEA) have both endorsed the controversial 1619 Project for inclusion in school curriculum. 

AFT president Randi Weingarten’s policies are behind issues such as Critical Race Theory. Following the pandemic outdated mask mandates caused teachers to quit in droves

As the pandemic wound down in May 2021, parents and their kids rallied to support school reopening despite the AFT’s objections

The project which had its inception as a New York Times opus was hailed a ‘corrective history’ of slavery in America but it has been fraught with criticism for ignoring facts in favor of a revisionist narrative that skews left. 

Though Weingarten’s official stance is that Critical Race Theory is not taught in classrooms, she recently pushed back against parents who spoke out against it.  

In April, Weingarten garnered controversy over school closures during the pandemic. She also spoke out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, which bans teaching kids in kindergarten through third grade about transgender issues.

‘This is propaganda. This is misinformation,’ Weingarten said during an interview on the Rick Smith podcast. ‘This is the way in which wars start. This is the way in which hatred starts.’ 

Weingarten said parents, educators and politicians needed to come together to help students recover from the effects the pandemic has had on schools.

‘Instead of just doing that, these right-wing ideologues are just trying to create fear and anxiety and anger, exploiting this fear that parents have,’ Weingarten told Smith.

This year to date , in 2022, the AFT has contributed more than $18,000,000 to candidates, parties and Super PACS. Weingarten is pictured with then-candidate Joe Biden in 2019 as part of his presidential election campaign

‘They’re using politics, creating intense long-term, harmful, cruel and political ramification.’

Weingarten said the bill would effectively put LGBTQ children ‘back into the closet’ and teach kids that transgender topics are taboo.

Speaking to DailyMail.com earlier this year Tiffany Justice, founder of Moms for Liberty, a non-profit organization aimed at ‘organizing, educating and empowering parents,’ said of Weingarten, ‘She’s an arsonist that pretends to be a firefighter.’

Since Weingarten assumed leadership in 2008 the power of the union coffers has been harnessed and used almost entirely in the interests of the Democrats.

In 2008, the union spent $2.6million on campaign contributions with 10 percent of that going to Republicans. That figure has since sky rocketed. 

This year to date, in 2022, the AFT has contributed more than $18,000,000 to candidates, parties and Super PACS.

The National Center for Education Statistics revealed that math and reading scores have dropped across the board following the closure of schools during the pandemic

Weingarten had already been facing backlash after the National Center for Education Statistics revealed last month that math scores among third grade students dropped five points from 2020 to 2022, and reading scores dropped seven.

That is the largest drop in reading scores in three decades, with math scores falling for the first time since records began in 1969.

The declines hit all regions of the country and students from most backgrounds — underscoring how remote-learning during the pandemic was no substitute for in-person education.

As NCES acting associate commissioner Daniel McGrath lamented the report at the time as ‘some of the largest declines we have observed in a single assessment cycle in 50 years.

‘Students in 2022 are performing at a level last seen two decades ago,’ he said.

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Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, had fought against proposals to reopen schools during the pandemic. She is pictured in June 2022

Republicans immediately blamed Democrats and the influence of teachers’ unions for keeping schools closed.

In a statement to DailyMail.com, Rep. Virginia Foxx, the ranking member of the House Education and Labor Committee, said: ‘President Biden, Randi Weingarten, and their Democrat counterparts across the country deserve equal blame for undercutting the educational pursuits of America’s children.’

But Weingarten sought to put a positive spin on the new figures, emphasizing that the shutdowns were necessary due to the pandemic. 

‘Thankfully after two years of disruption from a pandemic that killed more than 1 mil Americans, schools are already working on helping kids recover and thrive. This is a year to accelerate learning by rebuilding relationships, focusing on the basics,’ she wrote on Twitter at the time. 

What was FDR’s impact on schools? 

As President, Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) implemented several programs and initiatives that aimed to improve schools and educational opportunities for American students

 As President, Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) implemented several programs and initiatives that aimed to improve schools and educational opportunities for American students. 

One of his most significant efforts was the establishment of the National Youth Administration (NYA), which provided financial assistance to students from low-income families so that they could continue their education. 

The NYA also provided job training and employment opportunities for young people who were attending college or vocational training programs.

Other programs included The Works Progress Administration, which provided funding for the construction and repair of schools, as well as for the hiring of teachers and other education professionals; The National School Lunch Act, which established a program to provide free or reduced-price lunches to students from low-income families; The GI Bill, which provided financial assistance to veterans of World War II to help them attend college or other postsecondary training programs 

Overall, Roosevelt’s policies and programs helped to improve the quality and accessibility of education in the United States.