Teacher, Chess Coach Joseph Ocol Comes To School Despite Remote Learning Vote, Says COVID Safety Measures Should Not Be Done In 'Sweeping Way'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- We know very few teachers showed up to school on Wednesday – but some did.
One teacher, Joseph Ocol, came to his school despite a vote by the Chicago Teachers Union to move to remote learning due to a COVID-19 surge – which prompted the Chicago Public Schools to close schools and claim the union was staging an illegal walkout.
"Of course, I agree that there has to be safety measures, but it should be done in a sweeping way – because there are schools that don't have COVID," he said.
Ocol, a teacher and chess coach, said he did not have any COVID cases in his classroom.
He believes he was the only teacher at his school today, and he showed up to plan and organize.
"There were no students, and I was the only teacher there," Ocol said. "I miss my students. It's just that this is a different situation, and I feel sad about this."
Ocol was expelled from the union for crossing the picket line on a one-day walkout in 2016. He also came to school, and held interviews, during the 2019 Chicago teachers' strike.
He said his focus remains on the kids.
