WATCH: Teachers union boss ADMITS teachers are 'social justice warriors', blames politicians

President of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, took part in a back to school town hall with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and a number of other special guests on Thursday.

The panel discussed a wide variety of topics, including vaccines, student support, and school funding, however when the issue of teacher wellbeing came up, Weingarten said many are burnt out as the actions of politicians force them to become "social justice warriors."

Weingarten claimed that teachers were forced to bring their politics into the classroom. She said it was a result of lawmakers attacking them.

"Very few teachers thought that they were going into teaching to be social justice warriors," she said. She then claimed that teachers were burnt out because they were unable to answer the "questions of children" and that they have to be the "mask police."

Until as recently as February, Weingarten said there wasn't enough evidence to lift mask mandates and has been a consistent advocate of masking children in school.

In recent years, more and more teachers have taken it upon themselves to share with their students a particular worldview, often without the consent of parents. In the majority of cases, these teachers espouse far-left views surrounding society, history, and economics.

Some have even gone so far as to revamp their entire classrooms in an ill-fated attempt to "reverse" inequities of the past.

"It hasn't been easy in the last two years," she said, adding that "the inequity, the injustice, the lack of opportunities, the lack of a level playing field" have also contributed to the burn out.

"Teachers essentially are the first responders to all of this," Weingarten continued, "and what they ask for, is they ask for respect." Weingarten claimed that being owed respect is one of the reasons people want to become teachers