Continuing the debate…

I’m not sure what there is left to say about the subject of reopening schools. Kylene Beers (author of When Kids Can’t Read – necessary reading if you have the inclination) wrote an eloquent rebuke to school boards considering this issue here: http://kylenebeers.com/blog/2020/07/11/thinking-about-re-opening-your-schools-read-this-first/?fbclid=IwAR2acq6dWVpxZ6l3ZutX9M9aPePCeNPus7HLizkG7RffzHxELfM1YrSxHCc

We can debate all day about the concerns, the implications for learning and socialization, who is in charge of sanitizing, etc and never get anywhere because there don’t seem to be any good answers out there. However, something that I’ve been thinking about and seeing here and there is worth noting. No other fields are rushing their employees back into the workplace if their jobs can be done remotely. How can we hold in person school when indoor dining is still on hold? Surely, being in a school building for 6 hours and 50 minutes 2 to 3 times a week is just as risky as spending 2 hours eating inside a restaurant. And if malls need proper ventilation systems in order to reopen, why don’t schools? The school building I work in is large and old, and does not have air conditioning in every room nor can we open the windows all the way. With our shrinking budget, how is this issue going to be addressed?

In addition, why is it only the schools’ responsibility to “restart the economy”? Why aren’t other employers making accommodations and flexible plans for their employees during this time of crisis and beyond? Not everyone can afford an unpaid leave because schools are happening remotely or on a hybrid schedule and people are rightly stressed out about that. But it is not just an issue of school acting as childcare. It is an issue with the way people are expected to work in this country. In the many posts and articles I have read about the subject, this idea has only surfaced once or twice. Why is this not an issue that is front and center?

And I’d also like to address the idea that I’ve been seeing on social media about “teachers need to stop whining and get back in the classroom.” Several people have written about this idea, and they need to stop. This is not what any of us signed up for. When I started teaching 13 years ago, I did not say, “Hey you know what I always wanted to do? Teach through a deadly pandemic.” Teachers are not the same as healthcare workers in that regard, though some would have you believe that they are. Healthcare workers work with sick people. Teachers teach students. There is a difference. 

As much as I am not a fan of teaching remotely, I’m not sure there is any other safe choice for September.