I am 99% sure that 99% of teachers who are expressing concerns about returning to the classroom are doing so out of worry for the health, safety, & well-being of their students & families.

My husband has been stockpiling cleaning supplies for his classroom. Spending his own $.

We’ve talked, at length, about what happens when he gets sick. When. Not if. It’s just highly probable.

My toddler & I will go to my mom & dad’s. Or my toddler, the newborn baby, & I, depending on when...

We’ll hope & pray it’s mild & the rest of us stay healthy.

We’ve talked about how to help his students, the ones who will catch it, the ones who have already buried family members who have had it, the ones who will bring it home to their parents & siblings. Grief training is now part of their professional development. Grief training.

And we’ve talked about what it’ll look like if they go all virtual, a situation that is far from ideal, because many of his low income students don’t have the infrastructures at home to make a quiet focused learning environment possible.

In-person is best. Even with the risks.

We have talked every single day this summer about a career change. And we’ve talked about how to brace ourselves for the storm we’ll be weathering, because he’s an educator, and he wants to teach. It’s who he is.

So we’ve done what we need to do, to prepare to teach these kids.

But it doesn’t mean we aren’t worried. It doesn’t mean we aren’t cautiously asking “Are we maybe opening too soon, with numbers still on the rise in our town?” It doesn’t mean we aren’t scared about what a him in a high school will look like with a new baby come September...

Teachers aren’t lazy.

Most of the teachers I know are suiting up for battle, figuring out how they can quickly flip the switch to everything online if need be, while also trying to create a classroom experience that is fruitful, engaging, & challenging for their students.

Maybe, instead of calling them lazy, or proclaiming that they’ve had off since March, so it’s time for them to earn their dang paychecks! we could instead...

1) pray for their peace of mind
2) offer to buy them some Lysol & Germ-X
3) lend a helping hand
4) tell them “thank you”

And, if you think of it, pray for my little family.

We’re stressed. Cautiously optimistic. But still a little on edge.

We’re specifically turning to Padre Pio, Chiara Badano, & Elizabeth Ann Seton. They’ve been good heavenly friends to us before, and we know they will be now.