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As folks praise private schools actively fighting to “reopen” and condemn teachers’ unions for insisting on remote learning until the virus is more under control, I think it’s a great moment to note that when school is a business, parents, not children, are the customers.
As parents have noted many times throughout the pandemic, they are not trained to educate their own children, and the job is intellectually, emotionally, and sometimes even physically challenging.
One of the key components of both experience and training is a broad and deep understanding of best practices for student engagement, data retention, skill-building, socializing, and thriving in a learning environment. Teachers pride themselves on this knowledge and expertise.
Teachers stretch themselves to simply do the job competently. Even poor teaching is not a clock-in, clock-out job. The basic required tasks of the role necessary to avoid firing: class hours, meetings, grades, & lesson prep are not possible to complete in a 40 hr work week.
Excellent teachers don’t just complete the basic tasks. They meet with students outside of class hours. They attend student events to show their support. They tweak and refine lessons and assessments and projects that exist. They build relationships with adults in the community.
Because of the extraordinary amount of experience teachers have thinking supporting children, their wide range of experience with different students, their time spent studying research about learning, they are the experts.
Parents are not experts on school.
Parents are not experts on school.
To listen to the collective voice of teachers (unions) is to listen to the experts about school.
If you believe parent advocates for their individual children over teachers arguments about the best approaches to student learning...
you do not trust teacher expertise.
If you believe parent advocates for their individual children over teachers arguments about the best approaches to student learning...
you do not trust teacher expertise.
We want your kid to thrive, not just right now, but in life.
We know this moment is long and hard, and that some children are suffering significantly more than others, and we hate it.
Teachers unions are not asking to stay remote because they are selfish or scared.
We know this moment is long and hard, and that some children are suffering significantly more than others, and we hate it.
Teachers unions are not asking to stay remote because they are selfish or scared.
Teachers opinions about student needs should drive “reopening” conversations.
Not parents. Not politicians.
They’re not experts, and frankly, they’re not very creative when it comes to problem-solving.
Not parents. Not politicians.
They’re not experts, and frankly, they’re not very creative when it comes to problem-solving.
Teachers leading decision-making will lead to the best outcomes for our children.
We’re lucky in SF who are working with, advocating for, and listening to students and teachers like @lopez4schools even in the face of overt racism and ad hominem attacks from those looking to score political points or find an individual to blame for systemic problems.
Taking on the risks of being in the buildings would be worth it to teachers, too, if we believed it could meet student needs and solve the issues we’re seeing.
In person learning isn’t inherently better, more effective, or an solution to mental health issues.
In person learning isn’t inherently better, more effective, or an solution to mental health issues.
While imperfect, uneven, and challenging remote learning offers possibilities for student engagement that are at best extraordinarily difficult and at worst impossible when masked and six feet away from each other, even if our physical selves are in the same room.
