Further to Dr. Robinson's oft-quoted, now clarified Journal op-ed, this interview sheds light on why experts like Robinson and Hinshaw are more confident about our school reopening plans than many teachers.

Why are many teachers concerned? A thread: https://omny.fm/shows/ryan-jespersen-show/pediatrician-says-parents-shouldn-t-feel-guilty-ab?t=20s

1. Social benefits: Teachers are 100% on board with the fact that in person learning is better than online, for a swath of reasons

We agree.

Emergency remote learning was hard. Intentional online learning is better, but there's no substitute for butts in seats. Let's move on.

2. Healthcare workers do it every day: Yep, big shout out. The training and PPE they're afforded is in a different league though. Risk is minimized through protocols and protective equipment.

They aren't expected to make 2 cheap masks and 500mL of hand sanitizer last for 10 mo

3. Social distancing where possible: Hinshaw and Robinson both mention distancing where possible - it's a tenet of the plan - it's what makes exposure without hospital-grade PPE safe.

In almost all cases, social distancing is not possible.

Here is a photo of my classroom - almost all students sit 3 per table, with a small aisle in between.

With our quarters schedule, classes are 2.7 h long. The contact tracing apps consider 15 mins to be a noteworthy exposure time.

There's no money for different furniture.

It's a science classroom, so I have a sink for handwashing, but getting to it means squeezing past the students on that side of the room, which seems counterproductive.

I'm not sure how this environment is different than the social gatherings at the heart of clusters of cases.

4. COVID isn't that bad for most young people: I'm having difficulty sorting out the mixed message here - Robinson compares it to the flu.

Yes the flu kills people - in the US, 34k people last year. We're 8 months into 2020 and COVID has killed 5x that many.

It's not the flu.

The students in my classes are 15-19 years old. Some of they guys have more successful beads than I do. These are adults.

I am hesitant to overlook the potential long-term effects of this disease - there is a lot we don't know yet about this disease.

5. Are Hinshaw and Robinson out to lunch?

No. They are experts, and they know what they're doing.

But their advice is coloured by their experience in health care - where working/environmental conditions, training and PPE are of a different caliber.

They aren't teachers.

Their advice/comment is based on a lack of understanding of current Alberta classrooms, and therefore is out of sync with our needs going back.

We want to go back. We want to welcome students back and do our best for them.

But we're worried - because it doesn't feel safe.

We want your kids to be safe.

We want your families to be safe.

We want to be safe ourselves.

We want our families to be safe.

The time for big outside-the-box solutions has passed, ok. There is clearly unused space in the trampoline and martial arts facilities of the province - I guess hindsight is 20/20 there...

What can we accomplish at this point?

PPE: It is absurd that we are having to scrounge and pay out-of-pocket for enough quality PPE to protect ourselves and our students. Step up, #abed

Distancing: We need to reduce class sizes. Give boards the money to split bigger classes and properly support online students.

Facilities: Get contractors in to buildings to improve HVAC systems. Fund furniture to support distancing. Buy acrylic dividers for classrooms and window fans. It's not rocket science.

Training: Train staff on PPE use, what should we be using and when.

Help us to be able to do our jobs safely.

Because if we can't?

Outbreaks will mean isolation of classes, or closure of schools.

And this will mean kids at home - unexpectedly. And teachers teaching online - unexpectedly.

That didn't go so well last time.

So please, @CMOH_Alberta and @AdrianaLaGrange, support us.

Help us to re-open schools in a sustainable way, so that parents can go back to work and reasonably expect to stay there.

Help us to give the economy the stability it needs.

Help us to keep Albertans safe.

Help us.