The more I hear it, the more strongly I feel that it’s the wrong message:

“We got this!”

These words are echoing through the halls of every school, everywhere.

1/

It puts an undue burden on the backs of teachers to somehow overcome all the decks stacked against us. In a lot of ways, what we are experiencing right now is worse than in March.

If we succeed, it goes entirely unnoticed.

If we fail, we’re the ones to blame.

2/

“We got this!” sends the message that no matter how little time we’re given to prepare for classes, no matter how little training we’re given in managing in-person & remote classes simultaneously, how little PPE & thoughtful protocols are in place… it’s on us to make it work.
3/

“We got this!” sends the message to admin, BOE, and the greater community members that no matter what, we’ll find a way to make all of this work, even if it comes at great cost to our physical health, mental health, relationships, and general quality of life.

4/

“Why didn’t you set us up to succeed?” is what we should be asking.

“Why didn’t you have the drive to push back against State mandates?”

“Why didn’t you convince the BOE that we needed more time this summer to get this right?”

5/

But most importantly,

“Why didn’t you seize on this golden opportunity to fundamentally rethink how, what, and when learning can occur instead of trying to literally recreate (the most constraining parts of) the school day both in-person and remote?”

6/

We (could have) got this (right).

But we didn’t.

Here’s to what will be, by all measures, the worst year that any of us will endure in our careers as teachers.

Sugar-coating it lets the officials who could have made a difference off the hook.

7/