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Gotta love when you make common-sense arguments for why we shouldn& #39;t reopen schools too early and assholes respond with "you& #39;re a terrible teacher who should be thinking of my children first! How dare you! You should quit!" 1/?
This argument--that teachers should always put their students first, even ahead of our own lives--has been used to justify so much evil: no gun control despite school shootings. Slashing budgets b/c teachers will buy supplies out of our own budgets. 2/?
Buildings older than the oldest teachers, without adequate heat or air conditioning, infested with mice and cockroaches and mold. Windowless rooms. "It& #39;s okay!" Teachers intone proudly. "We& #39;ll make it work!" 3/?
What if we had resources, clean and habitable buildings, classes small enough to be manageable, etc. Instead of priding ourselves on our ability to "make it work" despite horrible conditions? 4/?
This attitude--"keep piling it on, we can take it! Take everything from us and we& #39;ll keep teaching because we love the kids!" Has lost us unions in many states, reasonable pay, and, frankly, the respect of our society and the people whose children we teach. 5/?
If we reopen too early, teachers and students and families will get sick and die. There is no argument more compelling than that. Let me address some common themes I see in arguments to reopen: 6/?
"kids need socialization." How will they socialize from six feet apart, not allowed to get up from their desks or even leave their classrooms? 7/?
"what about single mothers?" How is their child going to school two days a week going to improve the situation? We need to provide families monetary help, not free babysitting that comes at the cost of lives. 8/?
"other professions are going back to work, you& #39;re being selfish." Does your office feature HUNDREDS of tiny germ vectors who can& #39;t keep their masks on? Then STFU. Also, NOBODY should be back at work. Your argument is a great one for why we opened the whole economy too soon. 9/?
"teachers who are high risk or who have high risk family members should take FMLA or quit." THEN WHO WILL TEACH THE CHILDREN YOU DUMB FUCK? We already have a massive teacher shortage. Which brings me to my last point. 10/?
Teachers and staff will get sick and die and become disabled or, at the least, quarantined for weeks at a time. Schools will have to close due to lack of staff! And long-term, how will you replace all those dead and disabled teachers? Again, WE HAVE A MASSIVE SHORTAGE. 11/?
No one is thinking about the long-term consequences of reopening schools too early. And I DO care about my students. I& #39;d rather they were alive and behind educationally than dead or massively traumatized because their whole family & all their teachers DIED. 12/?
Anyway, I& #39;m mad about this, in case you couldn& #39;t fucking tell, and if you want to argue with me, I& #39;ll be on that block button so fast it& #39;ll make your head pop right off, so don& #39;t even try me. 13/?
TL;DR teachers need to stop letting people use "but the children!" To manipulate us into sacrificing our lives for other people& #39;s kids (while they treat us like shit) AND reopening schools early is going to be a total disaster that WAS preventable. FIN.
