“thoughts on ______” - returning back to schools, since you post about teaching stuff
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Honestly, I can understand why people want kids back in school. A lot of my students who had to switch to online in March told me they missed seeing their friends and us teachers, and they would have rather had the year-end in person so they could say goodbye to their friends. It’s better for their mental health to see other people, and some kids have situations at home that school helps them with, be it helping with needs in poverty or providing a stable place to go to if their home life is less than ideal.
At the same time, cases of the virus, especially in my state, are much higher than they were in March. With more data showing how kids can carry and spread the virus, I think it's just too risky to start the year off in person. Especially when districts aren’t prioritizing the safety of teachers and students. My school has put out a statement telling parents they can opt their children out of wearing masks, even though our state has a mask mandate. Frankly, that frustrates and worries me more than anything else. How can we keep everyone safe if we aren’t taking even the most basic of safety measures?
Honestly, no matter what happens, teachers are still going to be the ones thrown under the bus, even though we don’t make the policies that we have to enforce and follow. I’m going to go back, with my mask, and do my best to give my kiddos as normal of a school year as I can. I’ll do my best to make sure my classroom is safe for the kiddos, and that they can still get the education they need while also being safe. I’m going to try my hardest, and that’s all I can do with my hands tied by the policies in place at work.
