Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1175948
#OurVoiceOurUnion #WeAreCTA For our full social media directory, see cta.org/social. facebook.com/wearecta @WeAreCTA youtube.com/californiateachers @WeAreCTA WeAreCTA L E T U S K N O W W H A T Y O U T H I N K . We accept signed email and letters; we excerpt user posts from CTA social media platforms and californiaeducator.org. Content subject to editing for clarity and space. Photos must have permissions. Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily those of CTA. Editor@cta.org; #WeAreCTA Bring on the Bags Teaching addicts about the cultivation, distri- bution and chemical makeup of heroin is not an effective way to help them quit, yet that is precisely what Fernando J. Figueroa recommends when it comes to children and cellphones ("21st Century Digital Etiquette," August/September). Students already know that they are not sup- posed to be using phones when they interfere with classroom instruction — that is why they are hiding them under their books and in their laps. They are not struggling due to a lack of training in "digital citizenship" or "etiquette," but rather a lack of willpower and consequences. If a magnet- ically sealed bag helps young people break their dopamine-fueled addiction, bring on the bags. BR ANDON CRIST United Teachers Los Angeles Teaching Through Trauma When I first read the headline (August/September), I laughingly thought whose trauma, the teacher's or the student's? But the sad reality is that many teachers have trauma in their own lives. Then they have to go to work and teach students who have experienced trauma. RONALD HANCOCK Downey Education Association Editor's Note: Read all stories in our ongoing special report at californiaeducator.org/teaching-through-trauma. Gen Z and climate change CTA's special report "Generation Z" (June/ July and August/Sep- tember) included very telling information about our nation's youth. Per the Harvard poll quoted in the article, two of every three Gen Z students demand urgent action on climate change. As an educator of the NGSS standards, which incorporate environmental literacy, human impact on our earth, and plain following science and current events, I am appalled that CTA has not yet divested retirement programs from fossil fuel funding. Do we wonder why our students are hesitant in trusting government? How can we, as dedicated educators and labor advocates, look our students in the eye and teach about the effects of carbon emissions due to human-related climate change while simultaneously benefiting by betting against their future? SHIVAUGN ALVES Patterson Association of Teachers Editor's Note: CTA has worked with CalSTRS over the years to have one of the most environmentally conscious public pension plans in the nation. CalSTRS has been changing their investment portfolio to become more sustainable, but must also consider the long-term cost to the plan, which could impact the amount of contributions from school districts as well as how much new teachers contribute. CTA continues to work with CalSTRS and the Legislature on ways to maintain retirement security while prepar- ing for the future. 6 cta.org U P F R O N T