This year has been an enormous bucket of crazy- from horrific fires in Australia, to the COVID-19 happening abroad- to the realization that it's here, in the "grand" ol' USA as well. Schools closed. Businesses closed. Teachers shifted to remote learning literally overnight- districts sharing out technology- providing meals- creating new ways to serve students on IEP's. Was it perfect? Of course not. It was a total hot mess. Parents were scrambling trying to manage their Zoom schedules and those of their children. And you know what? My kids, all of their friends, and their teachers and school staff, are still alive.
Teachers were lauded as "heroes". There were hundreds, if not thousands, of videos made celebrating what teachers do on a daily basis and praying for a vaccine so kids could go back to school. Well, we don't have that yet. And now, a lot of what I see on social media is that teachers are "whiny" about a return to teaching in the fall. It will be fine, they say. Young kids don't spread it as much. Oh, whoops, well that's if they keep masks on- and SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN CLOSED. Have you every worked with kindergarteners? No? Ok then. Now, there is concrete evidence that intermediate and high school aged children can spread COVID-19 just like adults. If we are being realistic, those kiddos do NOT have all of their neurons firing yet- they truly don't get the cause/effect principle for lasting impact- just like with teen pregnancy or the spread of STI's.
During a five and a half hour school committee meeting in Worcester, a parent, William Gates, said "I will not lay my children down at the altar of economic recovery". He speaks the truth.
Now, who will speak up for teachers? Our safety should not be sacrificed either.
