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Can we take a second to look at the language being used when we discuss schools? When we say we need to “reopen schools” what does that mean? Many schools in the US are open. Yes, some huge districts are remote, but many teachers and students are face to face in buildings now.
I feel like the media led people to believe all schools are closed + students are in some sort of educational limbo. In reality, many teachers are in a hybrid situation where they are face to face daily. Students might be in person only some days but teachers are there every day
Thanks to a completely inept federal response throughout 2020, parents and teachers have been pitted against each other when we should be working together. It’s not about choosing whether we should protect teachers or students. It’s not a binary choice.
Teachers and students deserve safe school buildings. I feel like a broken record, but a teacher’s working conditions are a student’s learning conditions. We don’t need to pick one group to protect. We need to invest in school staff AND students.
This new paper published by NFL doctors provides schools with a lot of important information, but I am not confident anyone will listen. The White House keeps saying schools can open safely when all precautions are taken. Where is that happening? https://www.wsj.com/articles/super-bowl-nfl-covid-cdc-11612104460?fbclid=IwAR3FJw8qsyC8iGpnWWwWacGwwzAk03-VHdqPr8tiC0hCjUbLPn1bGEuuymA
It’s all well and good to say schools aren’t Covid hotspots, but until we regularly test staff and students we don’t know how true that is. The NFL, a billion dollar organization, found that even 6 ft/15 mins wasn’t always enough to prevent transmission.
Teachers have been begging districts to focus on these four things since the summer, but few districts have the funding to adequately social distance, cut down exposure time, and upgrade ventilation. Some schools don’t even require masks, the simplest one on the list!
We should add vaccinating teachers to the list, too. Instead of acting like parents + teachers are on opposite sides we should be working together. Parents- if you want schools open demand that teachers be prioritized for vaccines. Demand air purifiers in schools.
Parents should be outraged by any district that is allowing students to unmask during the day. Lunch should not be served! Let’s work together instead of arguing over whether hybrid is in-person or not.
Teachers want schools to go back to normal. We are exhausted teaching in person and remote students simultaneously. We miss our students! The sooner we can put this behind us the better. But in order to do that the public needs to do their part, too.
Cut down on community transmission! Stop hosting large gatherings, stop traveling, put a pause on indoor sports and then we can talk about increasing face to face education.
No teacher or student deserves to get sick at school. No family deserves to suffer because of in school transmission. https://longisland.news12.com/school-officials-investigate-covid-19-outbreak-in-old-bethpage-elementary-class?fbclid=IwAR1d8SQuEEPaeUwAkO367175lhEbS56EVDB4VMCQNQPjkouvJVQigdVC4v4
The school argument is not as simple as “reopen!” Many schools in the US are open. Many students are succeeding and many are happier and safer than they were in school buildings. Many are also struggling and less safe. It won’t be easy, but there are solutions.
All solutions start with parents, students, and school staff working together instead of against each other. In order to get more students in school buildings we need to make sure teachers, who are already asked to take a bullet for students, feel safe being in those buildings.
