Op-Ed: Pittsburgh Teaches Kids Wrong Lesson on NFL

Pittsburgh hosts the NFL draft in a few weeks, and the city school system decided to close its buildings for three days during the festivities and shift students to remote learning. In a Washington Post opinion piece, Duquesne law professor Joseph Sabino Mistick questions the wisdom of that. The city is citing logistics: Roughly 700,000 visitors are expected for the draft, but Mistick notes that only one of the district's 54 schools is actually near the action. As a result, many parents are baffled as they scramble for child care. Mistick, however, has another concern in mind—that Pittsburgh is teaching kids the wrong lesson about responsibility.

• "(W)e may have missed a great opportunity to teach students another important lesson rooted in Pittsburgh culture," he writes. "Anyone who grew up here remembers that dads and granddads, uncles and aunts went to work every day in factories and mills. In the worst weather, when they were sick or injured or feeling down, they poured through the gates and worked their shifts. They certainly wouldn't stay home because there was a big celebration in town. They all met their responsibilities." Read the full piece.