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I am a classroom teacher. I don't feel safe.
I know I am not alone.
I know I am not alone.
All of us have tried to navigate the situation in our own way; the endless questions or worries feel much different actually being in the reality of it though, and students aren't even in front of us yet. After these first few days, I truly do not feel okay about any of it.
Personal safety is a concern but all I can think about are colleagues, students, their families or communities at large and what is all too real a probability ahead. The govt has put us in a very tough situation, from districts, to admin+ staff, we’re left sorting the cards.
I know there aren’t answers to any question being raised and I know there is no handbook on what we are about to experience but there has to be more we can do to keep schools and communities safe. Forget politics, this needs to be the number one priority, period.
It will be life or death for someone. It might not be in my school or district, but somewhere a family member, student, or staff member will die. Isn't that enough to only have safety on our minds and in the steps we take as leaders or educators?
We need schools right now. Students need to connect with their peers, to grow into their own and to learn about the world around them now more than ever. Before any of these can be achieved, safety has to be the only thing that matters. More caution cannot hurt us.
Safety before a unit plan or outcome seems reasonable but I can’t help but feel this situation is being normalized on us. The "be strong" or "u can do its", "hope it all works out" or "we’ll do what we can" are not enough. A concrete plan and continually evolving efforts can be.
Yes, schools are meant to be future-forward in their thinking, quite fitting in a regular year, but this isn’t one of those. We have to accept that this is not going to be normal, not even close.
Because of that, shouldn't we try and make the best situation possible - not in the name of grades or what is comfortable for us as educators but in the health + safety of staff, students and families at large?
Or are we trying to hide from what we are all actually thinking?
Or are we trying to hide from what we are all actually thinking?
Is it the belief that approaching it no different any other year will relieve the struggle we will continue to face as this unfolds? This is not another year, yet I feel I’m being pushed into approaching it as if it is.
We can’t ever really be prepared for what's ahead and that is glaringly obvious, but I can't help but be certain we are not ready for it all just yet. More needs to be done. And I know I’m not coming with answers - there are none, really.
COVID training PDs, a health expert addressing a pandemic, staggered bell times, alt programming for Ss, giving teachers more protections in class or finding additional spaces to hold them. There has to be more we can put in place because what we have now is not enough.
I want to be there for students helping them learn and excel. I want to support my colleagues through this challenge. None of these can happen unless schools are safe and right now, they aren't.
