Had to clean out my classroom for it to be "deep-cleaned/sterilized." I dont know why one has to sterilize a room that hasn't been used since March 12th, but anyway. If we reopen in September (calling it now, we won't), things will be strange. What I've been told so far...

No more than 8 students per class. They will rotate days and attend school in cohorts. My class enrollment is 30. Most others range from 25-32. With each rotation coming in for its own day, theyll all get ONE (1) day in school per week. Remote learning for everyone on Fridays.

Papers. There are no papers. There are no books. They can't receive anything from me or share anything with each other (ha!). Which means even when in school, they will be on their Chromebooks. All. Day. Sounds a lot like remote learning, no?

Nothing can be hanging up. Posters. Student work. Nothing. (Again, those dangerous papers). My colleague remarked that itll be like the school from Matilda. So the walls will be bare.

There will be no lunch in the cafeteria. No recess. No gym class (in the traditional sense). I imagine theyll watch videos and save any energy they want to expend for when they're home (lucky parents).

I'm imagining lunch now and it's depressing. I'm eating at my desk. They're eating at their desks (spaced 6 ft apart). Silently chewing.

Not to mention that working w/ tech all day in order to learn is not developmentally appropriate for K-12 students. But weve had to stomach it these past few months. What is the point of reopening if we are only going to replicate remote learning in the classroom?

Seeing (some of) your peers for once a week certainly seems healthier than not seeing them at all, but when you factor in what it takes to run a school building during a pandemic, it does not bode well. Socialization will still take a major hit.

And btw, this thread doesnt even tackle the social and emotional damage and trauma children have had to endure during COVID. And I dont trust leadership to have a plan for that either.

And my students having to watch Black people getting killed and brutalized by the police each day on social media and the news. But we arent revolutionizing how we reach children (and I mean REACH).

Yeah we are READY to reopen.