Teachers Not Wanting to Go Back in Person

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because it is way easier and more relaxing to work from home..saves time and money and there’s no financial or professional penalty. So they are riding the gravy train as long as they can.

Seriously? I've worked from home half time for over a decade and none of those things are true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're keeping our kids at home because we feel that the in-school operations are unsafe. If we feel that way for our kids then I can COMPLETELY understand why teachers feel that way for themselves. The kids who have gone back already are either 1) the kids whose moms want them out of the house because they are hellions, or 2) the kids who have special needs or need extra support. I think most of the kids are in the #1 category. No way do I want our kids in that mix and, again, I can completely understand why teachers would want to avoid them. I would, too.

+1 Our kids have taken a look at who is in the classrooms and there is absolutely no way that our kids want to be there with them.

I'm surprised you didn't just call out which races they saw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because it is way easier and more relaxing to work from home..saves time and money and there’s no financial or professional penalty. So they are riding the gravy train as long as they can.

Seriously? I've worked from home half time for over a decade and none of those things are true.

I also work from home in normal times. I think for teachers the home setting removes the classroom management, they can blame parents for poor student outcomes, and they don’t have those extra duties that take up their planning time. There is no lunch or car line duty and it is a lot easier to multi-task in virtual meetings.

The tech issues are surmountable with a little effort.

[Anonymous]

As someone who has WFH for years by choice, I get why many people prefer it and are loathe to go back to their workplaces. My DH, who is also a government worker, feels the same way. I think it’s especially acute for people in highly regimented workplaces like schools, where your hours are strict with little leeway for things like running late, taking breaks, mental health days, etc. And coming back during Covid must feel extra challenging, even setting aside fears about safety, because the environment will be even more regimented and scrutinized under Covid safety guidelines.

So I get it and I don’t want anyone to be forced to go to a job they hate or where they don’t feel safe or supported.

I also know, as a parent of an ECE kid, that there is no feasible way to teach very young kids remotely. A discrete skill or activity, like a dance class or some focused literacy skills? Sure, kids can learn that via video and my kid does. But it’s not possible to be a remote Kindergarten teacher. That’s just not a job that exists. Just like you can’t be a remote massage therapist, or a remote ICU nurse. I don’t know about older grades— my kids are you g and I’m not an education expert. I just know that remote Kindergarten isn’t a real thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because it is way easier and more relaxing to work from home..saves time and money and there’s no financial or professional penalty. So they are riding the gravy train as long as they can.

Seriously? I've worked from home half time for over a decade and none of those things are true.

I also work from home in normal times. I think for teachers the home setting removes the classroom management, they can blame parents for poor student outcomes, and they don’t have those extra duties that take up their planning time. There is no lunch or car line duty and it is a lot easier to multi-task in virtual meetings.

The tech issues are surmountable with a little effort.

Not when the tech issues are actually network issues. We had network issues all year and now it is 10 times worse now that K-5 is back at school. It's awful and now everyone gets a crappy education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because it is way easier and more relaxing to work from home..saves time and money and there’s no financial or professional penalty. So they are riding the gravy train as long as they can.

+10000

Obviously not all teachers with many being back but plenty are riding the gravy train

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're keeping our kids at home because we feel that the in-school operations are unsafe. If we feel that way for our kids then I can COMPLETELY understand why teachers feel that way for themselves. The kids who have gone back already are either 1) the kids whose moms want them out of the house because they are hellions, or 2) the kids who have special needs or need extra support. I think most of the kids are in the #1 category. No way do I want our kids in that mix and, again, I can completely understand why teachers would want to avoid them. I would, too.

+1 Our kids have taken a look at who is in the classrooms and there is absolutely no way that our kids want to be there with them.

I seriously can’t even imagine who would be keeping their kids virtual by choice right now unless they are at high risk of Covid complications. Maybe PPs have middle or high school aged kids and virtual works for them. My ES kids just went back and they are like different people now (for the better). I assure you that most of the kids in our ES are not “behavior problems”.

About half the parents in my kid's kindergarten cohort, some of whom are neighbors we see at the park and chat. What it comes down to is their kids got into a good routine with virtual, many have siblings to play with or family close by so they're not super isolated, and the parents don't trust the school system or didn't have enough information about reopening conditions to feel safe choosing hybrid when we had to commit (which was December in our district).

I totally understand this. If I could minimize risk without seeing my kid suffer, I'd do the same. But mine was NOT in a good routine and was acting out more at home, which has improved slightly since hybrid started.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because it is way easier and more relaxing to work from home..saves time and money and there’s no financial or professional penalty. So they are riding the gravy train as long as they can.

+10000

Obviously not all teachers with many being back but plenty are riding the gravy train

The gravy train of... managing their own children’s online learning while trying to work? Or maybe the endless interruptions from spouses or partners in the house. I know, I know! The crushing existential dread of pandemic life.

I mean, come on. If working from home is a sinecure, I’ve definitely been screwed over. I really feel bad for teachers. They are in an untenable situation and they get to deal with people who think they understand education because they went to school 30 years ago critiquing their every move AND the crazy parents who are blaming them for the pandemic.

All for the princely sum of less than 75k/year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're keeping our kids at home because we feel that the in-school operations are unsafe. If we feel that way for our kids then I can COMPLETELY understand why teachers feel that way for themselves. The kids who have gone back already are either 1) the kids whose moms want them out of the house because they are hellions, or 2) the kids who have special needs or need extra support. I think most of the kids are in the #1 category. No way do I want our kids in that mix and, again, I can completely understand why teachers would want to avoid them. I would, too.

+1 Our kids have taken a look at who is in the classrooms and there is absolutely no way that our kids want to be there with them.

I seriously can’t even imagine who would be keeping their kids virtual by choice right now unless they are at high risk of Covid complications. Maybe PPs have middle or high school aged kids and virtual works for them. My ES kids just went back and they are like different people now (for the better). I assure you that most of the kids in our ES are not “behavior problems”.

Hi, nice to meet you. Parent of a diligent, bright gen ed autistic kid who loves school and is doing incredibly well virtual. I want to send my child back but the reality is that they are so rigid that the constant push pull of hybrid would spike their anxiety and make it untenable.

I want normal so bad. Believe me. But keeping my kid home the rest of the year and pursuing other safe social opportunities is a better choice for them.

I am NOT the only special needs parent in this category at all. If I had a neurotypical kid maybe it would be different, but I don’t and it isn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're keeping our kids at home because we feel that the in-school operations are unsafe. If we feel that way for our kids then I can COMPLETELY understand why teachers feel that way for themselves. The kids who have gone back already are either 1) the kids whose moms want them out of the house because they are hellions, or 2) the kids who have special needs or need extra support. I think most of the kids are in the #1 category. No way do I want our kids in that mix and, again, I can completely understand why teachers would want to avoid them. I would, too.

+1 Our kids have taken a look at who is in the classrooms and there is absolutely no way that our kids want to be there with them.

I'm surprised you didn't just call out which races they saw.

Wow, you're a racist and a bigot, and you're not even bothering to hide it. I'm the person you're responding to. My kids are Hispanic. They are the ones who don't want to be in the classroom with the kids who are there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're keeping our kids at home because we feel that the in-school operations are unsafe. If we feel that way for our kids then I can COMPLETELY understand why teachers feel that way for themselves. The kids who have gone back already are either 1) the kids whose moms want them out of the house because they are hellions, or 2) the kids who have special needs or need extra support. I think most of the kids are in the #1 category. No way do I want our kids in that mix and, again, I can completely understand why teachers would want to avoid them. I would, too.

+1 Our kids have taken a look at who is in the classrooms and there is absolutely no way that our kids want to be there with them.

I'm surprised you didn't just call out which races they saw.

Wow, you're a racist and a bigot, and you're not even bothering to hide it. I'm the person you're responding to. My kids are Hispanic. They are the ones who don't want to be in the classroom with the kids who are there.

I understood you the first time. What kinds of kids are those that your kids want nothing to do with?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're keeping our kids at home because we feel that the in-school operations are unsafe. If we feel that way for our kids then I can COMPLETELY understand why teachers feel that way for themselves. The kids who have gone back already are either 1) the kids whose moms want them out of the house because they are hellions, or 2) the kids who have special needs or need extra support. I think most of the kids are in the #1 category. No way do I want our kids in that mix and, again, I can completely understand why teachers would want to avoid them. I would, too.

+1 Our kids have taken a look at who is in the classrooms and there is absolutely no way that our kids want to be there with them.

I'm surprised you didn't just call out which races they saw.

Wow, you're a racist and a bigot, and you're not even bothering to hide it. I'm the person you're responding to. My kids are Hispanic. They are the ones who don't want to be in the classroom with the kids who are there.

I understood you the first time. What kinds of kids are those that your kids want nothing to do with?

Sigh. The misbehaving kids. Try to keep up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're keeping our kids at home because we feel that the in-school operations are unsafe. If we feel that way for our kids then I can COMPLETELY understand why teachers feel that way for themselves. The kids who have gone back already are either 1) the kids whose moms want them out of the house because they are hellions, or 2) the kids who have special needs or need extra support. I think most of the kids are in the #1 category. No way do I want our kids in that mix and, again, I can completely understand why teachers would want to avoid them. I would, too.

+1 Our kids have taken a look at who is in the classrooms and there is absolutely no way that our kids want to be there with them.

I'm surprised you didn't just call out which races they saw.

Not that poster, but it might not be a racial divide at all. One of my kids is in a class with lots of children from our family’s racial background. The nice part about DL is that class clowns and behavior problems just didn’t show up at all. If their parents force them to come in-person, it’ll derail everything for everyone in-person and virtual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're keeping our kids at home because we feel that the in-school operations are unsafe. If we feel that way for our kids then I can COMPLETELY understand why teachers feel that way for themselves. The kids who have gone back already are either 1) the kids whose moms want them out of the house because they are hellions, or 2) the kids who have special needs or need extra support. I think most of the kids are in the #1 category. No way do I want our kids in that mix and, again, I can completely understand why teachers would want to avoid them. I would, too.

+1 Our kids have taken a look at who is in the classrooms and there is absolutely no way that our kids want to be there with them.

+2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're keeping our kids at home because we feel that the in-school operations are unsafe. If we feel that way for our kids then I can COMPLETELY understand why teachers feel that way for themselves. The kids who have gone back already are either 1) the kids whose moms want them out of the house because they are hellions, or 2) the kids who have special needs or need extra support. I think most of the kids are in the #1 category. No way do I want our kids in that mix and, again, I can completely understand why teachers would want to avoid them. I would, too.

+1 Our kids have taken a look at who is in the classrooms and there is absolutely no way that our kids want to be there with them.

I'm surprised you didn't just call out which races they saw.

Mostly white, high income fwiw