First thoughts might be that teachers would be in the forefront of those arguing for a return to the classroom from LFH. But in the dialogue below from 2 teachers in California, one realizes that might be mistaken. While students may be less vulnerable if certain measures are taken, quite possibly those same measures will not protect teachers to the degree needed.
First Teacher:
School admin should look very closely at the epidemiological data–past, present, and projected. I think the potential for truly tragic consequences if we reopen schools to ANY regular in-person contact is huge and predicted, and the danger is most inevitable for the teachers and staff and parents/grandparents who will be exposed through the student vectors.
Even if we do hybrid online/in-person format to reduce the numbers of students on campus at any given time, teachers will be exposed to far more people, for far longer periods of time, and under what we know are completely high risk scenarios (enclosed spaces, everyone talking, shouting, sneezing, etc.) than any given student.
I completely get the pedagogical and student engagement trade-offs, but it is imperative we add the dangers to our faculty and staff, and put them as high of priority as our students, when calculating the risks of having students return to in-person school (in any capacity).
I’m fighting with my own admin at their attempts to rush everyone back to campus ASAP. It’s as if everyone is buying into the bilge that the virus is just “fading away.” And suddenly, it’s ok to go back out and do our business as usual, just as long as we wear masks and socially distance and use the strategically placed hand sanitizer pumps and trust that EVERYONE adheres to these behaviors (and don’t even get me started on how few people I see actually adhering to this).
Second teacher responds:
I agree with you 1,000%. I am waiting to see the specifics of the plans my school has developed if we do have some sort of hybrid opening in the Fall. If it doesn’t seem like enough to me, I am going to teach remotely, and Admin has said that they would be okay with that. Yeah, even with the mask mandate, there are way too many people wandering around outside uncovered, almost all of them under 30 by appearance. Disappointing.
And I think we can stay fairly safe inside a classroom, but when it comes time to move the kids around every hour or so, I don’t see how we can possibly do that AND maintain social distancing. No way.
I am very much on board with your rant!