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Without the safety of school, I would be dead by now, most likely at the hands of my mother.
That's not me being hyperbolic.
A short thread from a public school teacher on why reopening face-to-face school is CRUCIAL for our most underserved and at-risk children.
1/
That's not me being hyperbolic.
A short thread from a public school teacher on why reopening face-to-face school is CRUCIAL for our most underserved and at-risk children.
1/
My sibling and I were loved at home. But we were also abused, badly. And we told *no one.*
For many [but not all] of our children -- including me, when I was a child / adolescent -- school is a safe, welcoming place where there is food, structure, and peer relationships. 2/
For many [but not all] of our children -- including me, when I was a child / adolescent -- school is a safe, welcoming place where there is food, structure, and peer relationships. 2/
I know you are worried about harm to teachers and students and families re: opening in-person school.
Me, too.
I know school is an imperfect place: classist, racist, and steeped in cultures of oppression. 3/
Me, too.
I know school is an imperfect place: classist, racist, and steeped in cultures of oppression. 3/
I know we can count the # of hospital beds and Covid-19 test results. They are scary.
But not sending kids, especially our youngest learners, to in-person school fails to recognize that we cannot yet count or quantify the future, terrifying harm that comes if we all stay home 4/
But not sending kids, especially our youngest learners, to in-person school fails to recognize that we cannot yet count or quantify the future, terrifying harm that comes if we all stay home 4/
That's not being cute or alarmist.
That's me, telling you without sharing inappropriately, that my former students in my little Midwestern college town and their families depend on the structure of in-person school for child care and for stability.
5/
That's me, telling you without sharing inappropriately, that my former students in my little Midwestern college town and their families depend on the structure of in-person school for child care and for stability.
5/
That's me telling you that, although the idea of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can be too blunt and weaponized, it is a good shorthand for this moment:
We are overvaluing disease risk* and undervaluing the impact of ACEs 5, 10, 20 years from now. 6/
We are overvaluing disease risk* and undervaluing the impact of ACEs 5, 10, 20 years from now. 6/
(*Not for all families, obviously. But that's the beauty of the complex but choice-ful system my district has been trying to put in place - families could choose online-only if it was a better call based on health risks. And we could have more online Ts if more families chose) 7/
I don't think all the concerned folks in our community understand what it's like to have a kid who needs services, a kid for whom online-only learning is a poor strategy, or you're a caregiver who, you know, WORKS OUTSIDE THE HOME because otherwise your family is homeless. 8/
Or that ALL kids, regardless of age, are going to have on average much less secure attachment, +self-identity, and interpersonal problem-solving skills as a result of fewer peer interactions --
which are all giant risk factors for addiction, anxiety, harm-causing, etc. 9/
which are all giant risk factors for addiction, anxiety, harm-causing, etc. 9/
All of this to say: there are scary reports out there.
But they are nothing compared to what it's going to be like when this cohort of kids grows up --
if we don't balance our need to help our next adults *thrive* with protecting the most privileged generations ever.
/end
But they are nothing compared to what it's going to be like when this cohort of kids grows up --
if we don't balance our need to help our next adults *thrive* with protecting the most privileged generations ever.
/end
PS I am proud of my the folks in wonderful school corporation, @MCCSC_EDU, and how they have tried to navigate this.
I am just trying to make sure our public discourse accurately captures the urgency that many of my students' families feel, even if I can't share their stories.
I am just trying to make sure our public discourse accurately captures the urgency that many of my students' families feel, even if I can't share their stories.
