By: Mollie Shepherd Logan

Dear community,
I am a teacher. I studied many years to get two degrees and multiple certificates so I could teach our children how to read and write. That& #39;s what I signed on to do. Then, you asked me to be a parent and teach them character, ethics,

and morals and I did. Then, you asked me to be a social worker and teach them about suicide, online safety, bullying, to watch for signs of physical, mental, and sexual abuse and I did. Then you asked me to be a police officer and taught me how to identify gang behavior and

taught me how to keep students safe in an active shooter situation, up to and including, using myself as a human shield if necessary and I did. Now, you& #39;re asking me to be a health care worker and to wear a mask, face shield, and gloves, and you give me a bottle of hand sanitizer

so that I can teach our children in the midst of a pandemic because parents can& #39;t provide day care, are tired of having kids at home, feel socialization with friends is more important than safety, or simply don& #39;t really care. What will you expect of teachers next and when

will the "ask" be too much? When teachers express concern over - heaven forbid - their own safety and the safety of their families, we are told to adapt, to retire, or to quit. We& #39;re in this together you say ... are we?