How do teachers feel about the red situation?

[Anonymous]

You’re telling me that your first graders are writing two pages every time they write? How interesting. And you’re taking credit for stopping covid from spreading even when they are in the cafeteria/specials or parents are traveling/kids are exposed outside of school hours yet bring it into the building. Ok.

Unfortunately many of us have read CDC protocols and have fully implemented mitigation practices into our lives, classrooms, and yet we still have felt the impacts of COVID; losing loved ones, long covid haulers which both myself and my students have experienced. Your post is what we call toxic positivity and is completely tone deaf. I’m glad it’s been such a breeze for you and unfortunately some of my students and myself have lost family members and are experiencing real trauma. They are scared, sad, and have strong emotions that a couple of brain breaks or peace moments doesn’t necessarily fix.

Despite the trauma, we are, like you, spending every moment of the school day trying to close achievement gaps while maintaining high expectations for each other. But sick kids aren’t available for learning, no matter how magical of a teacher you claim to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The demands of this year do not bother me as I am very prepared for both virtual and in-person. I took virtual learning courses before the pandemic ironically and used all of my skills to be as effective as I could. I favor in-person learning 100%. We follow Covid-protocol, and I clean my own classroom every single day and have the lowest covid count in the school, 0. I read about covid-19, learned how to prevent it and followed the instructions from the CDC. My entire family has been just fine.

I AM concerned about lapses in social skills, language development and lack of number sense in my kids. We work around the clock in my classroom even practicing letter sounds, blends and sight words during bathroom breaks and we practice math facts on the way to specials, lunch and recess. We use every single minute of our day working on skills that these children need to be successful and I am seeing progress. When we do our daily writing, I expect every single kid to produce something and now I am having kids writing 2 pages and using proper punctuation, capitalization and spelling sight words correctly.

What I do not need: closures. This will inhibit our progress and the stability in which I have built in my classroom. We have a very good routine, follow procedures and regulate our emotions through zen breaks and mindfulness. I LOVE my class right now and believe we can move most of my class from red and orange into yellow and green, be emotionally ready for 2nd grade and recover as much as we can from the damage of the pandemic.

This “teacher” is a massive troll. DCUM is full of massive opportunists who soapbox just like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You’re telling me that your first graders are writing two pages every time they write? How interesting. And you’re taking credit for stopping covid from spreading even when they are in the cafeteria/specials or parents are traveling/kids are exposed outside of school hours yet bring it into the building. Ok.

Unfortunately many of us have read CDC protocols and have fully implemented mitigation practices into our lives, classrooms, and yet we still have felt the impacts of COVID; losing loved ones, long covid haulers which both myself and my students have experienced. Your post is what we call toxic positivity and is completely tone deaf. I’m glad it’s been such a breeze for you and unfortunately some of my students and myself have lost family members and are experiencing real trauma. They are scared, sad, and have strong emotions that a couple of brain breaks or peace moments doesn’t necessarily fix.

Despite the trauma, we are, like you, spending every moment of the school day trying to close achievement gaps while maintaining high expectations for each other. But sick kids aren’t available for learning, no matter how magical of a teacher you claim to be.

You do realize we have a new normal, right? COVID isn’t going away. I’m sorry for your losses, I’ve also had losses. I had COVID before vaccines came out, even though I’m really careful all the time.

We all have to find a way to adjust that doesn’t include closing the schools. I think that means training and hiring a lot more teachers and staff (nurses too). Enough damage has been done to the students and society from the closures. It’s time to recognize that MCPS needs to build up the teaching infrastructure to deal with absences and retirements. Some teachers will never feel comfortable in the classroom and probably should move on to another job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’re telling me that your first graders are writing two pages every time they write? How interesting. And you’re taking credit for stopping covid from spreading even when they are in the cafeteria/specials or parents are traveling/kids are exposed outside of school hours yet bring it into the building. Ok.

Unfortunately many of us have read CDC protocols and have fully implemented mitigation practices into our lives, classrooms, and yet we still have felt the impacts of COVID; losing loved ones, long covid haulers which both myself and my students have experienced. Your post is what we call toxic positivity and is completely tone deaf. I’m glad it’s been such a breeze for you and unfortunately some of my students and myself have lost family members and are experiencing real trauma. They are scared, sad, and have strong emotions that a couple of brain breaks or peace moments doesn’t necessarily fix.

Despite the trauma, we are, like you, spending every moment of the school day trying to close achievement gaps while maintaining high expectations for each other. But sick kids aren’t available for learning, no matter how magical of a teacher you claim to be.

You do realize we have a new normal, right? COVID isn’t going away. I’m sorry for your losses, I’ve also had losses. I had COVID before vaccines came out, even though I’m really careful all the time.

We all have to find a way to adjust that doesn’t include closing the schools. I think that means training and hiring a lot more teachers and staff (nurses too). Enough damage has been done to the students and society from the closures. It’s time to recognize that MCPS needs to build up the teaching infrastructure to deal with absences and retirements. Some teachers will never feel comfortable in the classroom and probably should move on to another job.

NP. I am sure teachers and nurses are lining up so that they can put up with abuse from the likes of you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’re telling me that your first graders are writing two pages every time they write? How interesting. And you’re taking credit for stopping covid from spreading even when they are in the cafeteria/specials or parents are traveling/kids are exposed outside of school hours yet bring it into the building. Ok.

Unfortunately many of us have read CDC protocols and have fully implemented mitigation practices into our lives, classrooms, and yet we still have felt the impacts of COVID; losing loved ones, long covid haulers which both myself and my students have experienced. Your post is what we call toxic positivity and is completely tone deaf. I’m glad it’s been such a breeze for you and unfortunately some of my students and myself have lost family members and are experiencing real trauma. They are scared, sad, and have strong emotions that a couple of brain breaks or peace moments doesn’t necessarily fix.

Despite the trauma, we are, like you, spending every moment of the school day trying to close achievement gaps while maintaining high expectations for each other. But sick kids aren’t available for learning, no matter how magical of a teacher you claim to be.

You do realize we have a new normal, right? COVID isn’t going away. I’m sorry for your losses, I’ve also had losses. I had COVID before vaccines came out, even though I’m really careful all the time.


+1. - Signed a disease conscious parent
We all have to find a way to adjust that doesn’t include closing the schools. I think that means training and hiring a lot more teachers and staff (nurses too). Enough damage has been done to the students and society from the closures. It’s time to recognize that MCPS needs to build up the teaching infrastructure to deal with absences and retirements. Some teachers will never feel comfortable in the classroom and probably should move on to another job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’re telling me that your first graders are writing two pages every time they write? How interesting. And you’re taking credit for stopping covid from spreading even when they are in the cafeteria/specials or parents are traveling/kids are exposed outside of school hours yet bring it into the building. Ok.

Unfortunately many of us have read CDC protocols and have fully implemented mitigation practices into our lives, classrooms, and yet we still have felt the impacts of COVID; losing loved ones, long covid haulers which both myself and my students have experienced. Your post is what we call toxic positivity and is completely tone deaf. I’m glad it’s been such a breeze for you and unfortunately some of my students and myself have lost family members and are experiencing real trauma. They are scared, sad, and have strong emotions that a couple of brain breaks or peace moments doesn’t necessarily fix.

Despite the trauma, we are, like you, spending every moment of the school day trying to close achievement gaps while maintaining high expectations for each other. But sick kids aren’t available for learning, no matter how magical of a teacher you claim to be.

You do realize we have a new normal, right? COVID isn’t going away. I’m sorry for your losses, I’ve also had losses. I had COVID before vaccines came out, even though I’m really careful all the time.

We all have to find a way to adjust that doesn’t include closing the schools. I think that means training and hiring a lot more teachers and staff (nurses too). Enough damage has been done to the students and society from the closures. It’s time to recognize that MCPS needs to build up the teaching infrastructure to deal with absences and retirements. Some teachers will never feel comfortable in the classroom and probably should move on to another job.

NP. I am sure teachers and nurses are lining up so that they can put up with abuse from the likes of you.

Np. Most of the teachers I know feel the same as the above teacher. What they wish is that a) parents would keep sick kids home regardless of Covid but definitely because of Covid, 2) would instill discipline and manners, and 3) would practice basic academic skills at home. Oh and stop blaming them for everything wrong in PS

[Anonymous]

I can't believe some people here believe the "teacher". Writing 2 pages in first grade? Really?

I am an actual MCPS high school teacher. I also have a 6th grader who has had to stay home after exposures, so I understand some of the ES parent frustrations. My thoughts:

I prefer in-person. My content and teaching style can work well over zoom, but interacting with students is impossible. I am also miserable talking to black boxes.

A lot of kids don't take COVID precautions seriously at all. Minimal effort for mask use. Usually the ones who dislike education and authority anyways.

I like my admin, but they don't really lead by example when it comes to supporting teachers. I hate the extra period a week doing emotional support or other MCPS trainings. Most staff and students feel it is a waste.

The kids are on the phones ALL OF THE TIME. Really hard to get them off. I seriously worry about their impulse control and need for constant entertainment. Teachers can't compete with the technology/entertainment value of these devices.

The pandemic has really accelerated the "teachers as facilitators" movement rather than teaching/lecturing/whole class activities. A lot of subjects seem to be organized around 5 to 10 minutes (max) of instruction and then assigning an online assignment for the rest of class. Much less hands-on or discussion. Hands-on and and discussion used to appeal to students, but it can't compete with their entertainment devices.

The COVID testing situation is unbearable. I had huge anxiety attacks before school restarted. I don't trust MCPS admin leadership. They say one thing and then never follow through or just lower the goalposts. Too much happy talk and not enough support.

I still like my job, but I worry about the kids more than anything. I constantly feel like I am not able to give them the best education. I used to be focused on hands-on activities more, but the obvious limits we have right now make that almost impossible.

[Anonymous]

My thoughts as a teacher: I’m not worried about getting Covid and not particularly worried about the kids getting it, because omicron is so mild. But it’s impossible to teach under current conditions. We had 6 of 20 teachers out sick yesterday. No subs. No planning periods. Covering everybody’s classes any way possible. Most of the custodians out. It’s chaotic, dirty, and not much learning is happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The demands of this year do not bother me as I am very prepared for both virtual and in-person. I took virtual learning courses before the pandemic ironically and used all of my skills to be as effective as I could. I favor in-person learning 100%. We follow Covid-protocol, and I clean my own classroom every single day and have the lowest covid count in the school, 0. I read about covid-19, learned how to prevent it and followed the instructions from the CDC. My entire family has been just fine.

I AM concerned about lapses in social skills, language development and lack of number sense in my kids. We work around the clock in my classroom even practicing letter sounds, blends and sight words during bathroom breaks and we practice math facts on the way to specials, lunch and recess. We use every single minute of our day working on skills that these children need to be successful and I am seeing progress. When we do our daily writing, I expect every single kid to produce something and now I am having kids writing 2 pages and using proper punctuation, capitalization and spelling sight words correctly.

What I do not need: closures. This will inhibit our progress and the stability in which I have built in my classroom. We have a very good routine, follow procedures and regulate our emotions through zen breaks and mindfulness. I LOVE my class right now and believe we can move most of my class from red and orange into yellow and green, be emotionally ready for 2nd grade and recover as much as we can from the damage of the pandemic.

The scary part is parents here believing this is a real post and calling this so-called teacher amazing. It proves how much people outside of education truly have no idea what the inside of an actual classroom looks like. It’s nice if you think this would be “amazing” but this isn’t how it works. At all. Also, kids need a break. Singing math facts in the hallway sounds ridiculous not to mention disruptive. Blending works on bathroom breaks? Get. Real. First graders writing two pages with proper punctuation? This poster isn’t a teacher and if they actually are, they are delusional. So are parents with expectations like this.

[Anonymous]

How do teachers feel about the red situation…

I teach ES. My school is one of those that turned red this week. We have gotten zero communication from our administration acknowledging the situation or how to proceed. This creates a lot of anxiety on top of an already stressful situation. Teachers are constantly trying to remind kids about masks (yes, many are still wearing cloth ones so many teachers are buying kn95s for their students), reminding students to distance (it still doesn’t happen but we set the expectations), listening for coughs/sneezing, checking in on families they’ve not heard from all week, forwarding reports about positive cases to admin, worrying about their own health (I dare you to put in a sub job this month!)…theist goes on and on. And notice this is all on top of the normal stresses of the job, the ones we didn’t know we were signing up for but have adjusted to and know how to work with.

All this to say, it is a lot right now. And leadership has utterly failed us. Most teachers I talk to would have much preferred the DCPS or PGCPS approach of proving and requiring (like for real requiring) a negative test to return to school. They’ve accepted that COVID is evolving into something that we are going to have to learn to live and teach with. We, especially teachers, are going to get it at some point if we haven’t already.

Essentially, teachers in red schools are feeling extremely stressed and anxious and as if leadership is still on vacation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My thoughts as a teacher: I’m not worried about getting Covid and not particularly worried about the kids getting it, because omicron is so mild. But it’s impossible to teach under current conditions. We had 6 of 20 teachers out sick yesterday. No subs. No planning periods. Covering everybody’s classes any way possible. Most of the custodians out. It’s chaotic, dirty, and not much learning is happening.

Yep, all of this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The demands of this year do not bother me as I am very prepared for both virtual and in-person. I took virtual learning courses before the pandemic ironically and used all of my skills to be as effective as I could. I favor in-person learning 100%. We follow Covid-protocol, and I clean my own classroom every single day and have the lowest covid count in the school, 0. I read about covid-19, learned how to prevent it and followed the instructions from the CDC. My entire family has been just fine.

I AM concerned about lapses in social skills, language development and lack of number sense in my kids. We work around the clock in my classroom even practicing letter sounds, blends and sight words during bathroom breaks and we practice math facts on the way to specials, lunch and recess. We use every single minute of our day working on skills that these children need to be successful and I am seeing progress. When we do our daily writing, I expect every single kid to produce something and now I am having kids writing 2 pages and using proper punctuation, capitalization and spelling sight words correctly.

What I do not need: closures. This will inhibit our progress and the stability in which I have built in my classroom. We have a very good routine, follow procedures and regulate our emotions through zen breaks and mindfulness. I LOVE my class right now and believe we can move most of my class from red and orange into yellow and green, be emotionally ready for 2nd grade and recover as much as we can from the damage of the pandemic.

You know "cleaning your classroom.every day" has negligible to nil effect on the spread of COVID, right?

Great, you managed to find something critical to say in response to this thoughtful post that a teacher took the time to write, in response to OP’s solicitation of teacher’s thoughts.

Hygiene isn’t a bad idea, even if it won’t prevent the spread of Covid.

+1, particularly when there are often overlapping symptoms between different illnesses.

Thanks for all you do, PP teacher!

[Anonymous]

I love teaching. Always have and always will. I’m vaccinated and boostered but right now, am nervous about bringing covid home to my 6 month old. I live a very cautious lifestyle and will until my son can get vaccinated, so hearing how my students traveled, went to Disney, over winter break is a bit nerve wrecking. Should schools have closed for a few weeks? Absolutely. Will the children be ok going virtual temporarily? Definitely. Regardless, I show up to work and give it my all every day and hope for the best.

[Anonymous]

There are rumors that some of the leadership of MCPS or their kids have COVID. Wouldn't surprise me at all given the COVID rate at central office. Even Erlich has COVID.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe some people here believe the "teacher". Writing 2 pages in first grade? Really?

I am an actual MCPS high school teacher. I also have a 6th grader who has had to stay home after exposures, so I understand some of the ES parent frustrations. My thoughts:

I prefer in-person. My content and teaching style can work well over zoom, but interacting with students is impossible. I am also miserable talking to black boxes.

A lot of kids don't take COVID precautions seriously at all. Minimal effort for mask use. Usually the ones who dislike education and authority anyways.

I like my admin, but they don't really lead by example when it comes to supporting teachers. I hate the extra period a week doing emotional support or other MCPS trainings. Most staff and students feel it is a waste.

The kids are on the phones ALL OF THE TIME. Really hard to get them off. I seriously worry about their impulse control and need for constant entertainment. Teachers can't compete with the technology/entertainment value of these devices.

The pandemic has really accelerated the "teachers as facilitators" movement rather than teaching/lecturing/whole class activities. A lot of subjects seem to be organized around 5 to 10 minutes (max) of instruction and then assigning an online assignment for the rest of class. Much less hands-on or discussion. Hands-on and and discussion used to appeal to students, but it can't compete with their entertainment devices.

The COVID testing situation is unbearable. I had huge anxiety attacks before school restarted. I don't trust MCPS admin leadership. They say one thing and then never follow through or just lower the goalposts. Too much happy talk and not enough support.

I still like my job, but I worry about the kids more than anything. I constantly feel like I am not able to give them the best education. I used to be focused on hands-on activities more, but the obvious limits we have right now make that almost impossible.

I also teach HS and this exactly. Phones have ruined school in so many ways. At my school we are not allowed to take phones away or even touch a kid’s phone. I wish MCPS would come up with a policy with consequences for incessant phone use