{"id":1336795,"date":"2022-02-24T10:23:22","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T15:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1336795"},"modified":"2022-02-24T10:23:28","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T15:23:28","slug":"exclusive-watch-michigan-gop-slams-gretchen-whitmer-for-disastrous-school-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-watch-michigan-gop-slams-gretchen-whitmer-for-disastrous-school-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive \u2014 Watch: Michigan GOP Slams Gretchen Whitmer for Disastrous School Policies"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexclusive-watch-michigan-gop-slams-gretchen-whitmer-for-disastrous-school-policies%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1336795&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1229111648-640x335-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">The Michigan Republican Party is releasing an ad outlining several ways Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) \u201cfailed\u201d the students of her state and fought to close down schools.<\/p>\n<p>The ad, titled \u201cWhitmer Failed Our Students,\u201d provided to Breitbart News in advance of its release, features headlines and newscasters detailing the dismal state of Michigan\u2019s public schools.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cMichigan is shaping up to be the latest battleground for education after the state Democrat party dismissed parents and what their kids learn inside of the classroom,\u201d one of the newscasters says, referring to a Facebook post in which the state Democrat Party dismissed parents entirely, arguing that they are not \u201cthe client of the public school.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot sure where this \u2018parents-should-control-what-is-taught-in-schools-because-they-are-our-kids\u2019 is originating, but parents <strong>do<\/strong> have the option to choose to send their kids to a hand-selected private school at their own expense if that is what they want,\u201d the now-deleted post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2022\/01\/17\/michigan-democratic-party-deletes-post-questioning-parents-role-public-education\/6553763001\/\">began<\/a> [emphasis in original]. \u201cThe purpose of a public education in a public school is not to teach kids only what parents want them to be taught. <strong>It is to teach them what society needs them to know<\/strong>.\u201d [Emphasis in original].<\/p>\n<p>Doubling down on the anti-parent sentiment, Whitmer herself initially <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/arlingtondems\/status\/1451628189730721802?s=20&#038;t=AGssg30kiNPWL7FCHJhCVw\">intended<\/a> to campaign with failed Virginia gubernatorial candidate and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), but eventually backed out.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>McAuliffe infamously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/09\/29\/terry-mcauliffe-i-dont-think-parents-should-be-telling-schools-what-they-should-teach\/\">sank<\/a> his own campaign by saying on the debate stage with now-Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), \u201cI don\u2019t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But that was not the only message Whitmer was signing up to campaign for. McAuliffe also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dhwbHfH_WXg&#038;ab_channel=vahousegop\">said<\/a> parents who are concerned with critical race theory in their children\u2019s schools were \u201cracist\u201d and then continued to lie about its prominence in Virginia schools, calling the issue a \u201cdog whistle.\u201d Furthermore, McAuliffe campaigned with American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rweingarten\/status\/1445372593767342082?s=20&#038;t=uV8KGiyLsaV1mjTAIRkjpQ\">applauded<\/a> Attorney General Merrick Garland\u2019s call to sic the FBI on concerned parents \u2014 using \u201ccounterterrorism tools\u201d \u2014 after the National School Boards Association asked that they be <a href=\"https:\/\/defendinged.org\/press-releases\/state-school-board-associations-responses-to-the-nsba-letter\/\">investigated<\/a> as \u201cdomestic terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Whitmer\u2019s connection to detrimental school policy goes much further.<\/p>\n<p>While the Michigan Democrat promised in her 2021 State of the State address that schools would be open to in-person learning by March of that year \u2014 claiming that the coronavirus pandemic \u201cstole\u201d precious schooling time from children \u2014 many of the Great Lakes State\u2019s largest school districts remained shuttered.<\/p>\n<p>Detroit, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/defendinged.org\/press-releases\/state-school-board-associations-responses-to-the-nsba-letter\/\">refused<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/wwmt.com\/news\/local\/battle-creek-public-schools-returns-to-virtual-learning-amid-rising-covid-19-cases\">open<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilx.com\/2022\/01\/06\/lansing-school-district-returning-in-person-learning\/\">until<\/a> January 2022, along with Battle Creek and Lansing. Ann Arbor was sued because the closures arguably <a href=\"https:\/\/eu.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/local\/michigan\/2022\/01\/05\/michigan-schools-virtual-learning-restraining-order-federal-lawsuit\/9111551002\/\">violated<\/a> civil rights law under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Flint\u2019s public schools, however, remain <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/coronavirus\/michigan-school-district-extends-virtual-learning-indefinitely\/\">closed<\/a> indefinitely.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>All of this happened at a time when the American left was quick to turn a blind eye on the ensuing educational, developmental, and mental health disaster the country is now in as a result of policies like these.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Americans have known since very early on in the pandemic that \u201cvirtual learning\u201d has been a disaster for the wellbeing of children \u2014 who are also at the lowest risk for serious illness from the virus.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>In the middle of 2020, the American Academy of Pediatrics urged school officials to open schools for in-person learning, warning of spiking depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among children.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy pointed out that \u201cdepression and anxiety symptoms for youth around the world had doubled during the pandemic and that clinical data also revealed that \u2018suspected suicide attempts were 51% higher for adolescent girls and 4% higher for adolescent boys compared to the same time period in early 2019.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018Pandemic-related measures \u2026 made it harder to recognize signs of child abuse, mental health concerns, and other challenges\u2019 children were facing given the \u2018reduced in-person interactions among children, friends, social supports, and professionals such as teachers [and] school counselors,\u2019\u201d Murthy\u2019s study stated.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Physical and emotional health were not the only things to see a precipitous drop from these policies \u2014 educational performance did, too.<\/p>\n<p>A study <a href=\"https:\/\/epicedpolicy.org\/k-8-student-achievement-and-achievement-gaps-on-michigans-2020-21-benchmark-and-summative-assessments\/\">done<\/a> by Michigan State University found a widening achievement gap between students who did \u201cremote learning\u201d versus in-person schooling. The gap widened the most among black, Latino, and economically disadvantaged students.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, according to the study, half of black fourth grade students started the 2020-2021 school year significantly below grade level on exams. By the end, two-thirds of black fourth graders were in the same position.<\/p>\n<p>Latino students followed the same trend, starting the school year with 35 percent underperforming, but ending with 43 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, while private schools largely stayed open, Whitmer has a record of being fiercely anti-school choice.<\/p>\n<p>When Whitmer <a href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/michronicle\/docs\/mc_digital_daily_3.8.17\">announced<\/a> her bid in 2017, she immediately made it clear she had a negative view of charter schools, saying she wanted to \u201cput some accountability into charter schools.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Later on the campaign trail, she <a href=\"https:\/\/eu.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/local\/michigan\/2018\/06\/08\/whitmer-give-michigan-teachers-raise\/685938002\/\">vowed<\/a> to put onerous regulations on charter schools, such as banning them from contracting for-profit management companies. At the time, Michigan Association of Public School Academies President Dan Quisenberry said of Whitmer\u2019s plan that \u201cblaming people is not a vision for education,\u201d and described the Democrat as \u201cplaying politics\u201d with education policy.<\/p>\n<p>Since taking office, she has gone after charter schools.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, the governor line-item\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/news\/2019\/10\/whitmer-veto-axes-35m-per-pupil-increase-for-charter-schools.html\">vetoed<\/a> a $35 million per-pupil increase for charter schools. While keeping the increases for other public schools, Whitmer decided to axe the increases for charters \u2014 which are also public. Charter schools are used heavily in places like Detroit, where from 2016 to 2017, 49 percent of students attended public charter schools.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGretchen Whitmer shut down schools with the stroke of her pen and the bully pulpit. More than 1.5 million Michigan students were displaced from their schools, friends, and any sense of normalcy at the governor\u2019s whim for months on end,\u201d Michigan GOP Chief of Staff Paul Cordes, said in a press release seen first by Breitbart News. \u201cUnsurprisingly, we now have clear evidence that students who were forced into remote learning actually learned less than their peers who had access to in-person schooling. She has done immeasurable damage to our kids. If she had put half as much effort into opening schools, as she did putting two-year old toddlers in masks, Michigan students would have been in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whitmer is currently running for reelection in the 2022 midterm.<\/p>\n<p><em>Breccan F. Thies<\/em>\u00a0<em>is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter\u00a0<a title=\"This external link will open in a new window\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreccanFThies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@BreccanFThies<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Michigan Republican Party is releasing an ad outlining several ways Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) \u201cfailed\u201d the students of her state and fought to close down schools. The ad,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1336795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1336795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1336795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1336795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1336795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1336795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1336795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}