Private School Teachers are Scared

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Private school teacher here who resents any private school teacher who says they speak for all of us. I am appropriately apprehensive but prefer to teach in person. I was disappointed when my school reversed course and chose to do everything virtually. [/quote}
I am a parochial school teacher who agrees with "appropriately apprehensive" entirely. We are going back in person and I am pleased. And yes, I am in a "high risk" group. But I have studied and in fact given input to our plan, and above all, believe the students need to be in school if we can do it with appropriate precautions - and we are. All the teachers I know agree with this basic stance. I am not sure what the motivation is for all this public hand-wringing, but please don't think it represents all teachers. There are lots and lots of us that are happy to get back to work and are quiet and just get on with our jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school teachers are about to be out of a job when their private schools go out of business due to lack of enrollment after this utter catastrophe

Our school suddenly has wait lists for most grades from all the parents switching from publics, but ok.

Because schools promised to
Open. After the bait and switch (I’m looking at you Burgundy Farm Country Day School), parents are seeing the light.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school teachers are about to be out of a job when their private schools go out of business due to lack of enrollment after this utter catastrophe

Our school suddenly has wait lists for most grades from all the parents switching from publics, but ok.

That’s because they said they were opening (duh). No one is going to switch from public to have the privilege of paying for DL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school teachers are about to be out of a job when their private schools go out of business due to lack of enrollment after this utter catastrophe

Our school suddenly has wait lists for most grades from all the parents switching from publics, but ok.

Our school is doing DL, but everyone I know is thrilled with how they've handled it and I expect that many will donate more than usual this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school teachers are about to be out of a job when their private schools go out of business due to lack of enrollment after this utter catastrophe

I’m a teacher and you’re exactly right. I am planning to update my license this year (I let it lapse when I moved to private a while back) because I truly do not expect the small privates to survive. Parents aren’t going to pay for this for another year and I can’t really blame them.

This is the truth. I learned today my daughter's private Maryland high school will not be having sports this fall, amongst other things. She is a VB player going into her senior year (with college athletic aspirations). We are currently considering other options...stay in private school for 1 class and pay $$$$ or transfer to our local public (which she can still enroll in virtual) and play sports (we are across PA line). There's no point in staying.

So sorry PP. I have two at a Maryland private school as well. I think we were all holding out hope that HS sports would happen this fall for private schools, maybe with parents providing transportation. As you say, with virtual learning and no in person activities on the horizon, we might as well have sent them to public school this year and saved money.

Teachers please know that parents love our children and aren’t sending them or wishing for in person school because we can’t stand them and want to get rid of them. I hate this narrative. It’s lazy thinking and irresponsible. Know that we love them but recognize what is best for them. Are we a little nervous? Yes. Would I volunteer at the school to help you out? Yes, I would do that too. But honestly, I work in a public safety position and need to report to work in 4 weeks. I can’t use the excuse that I am scared to avoid going to work. They will pay me off and not pay me and I’m not a blue collar worker. I’m a lawyer so this isn’t a class issue. I’m just holding you to the same standard I am being held to. That said if you have an exceptional home circumstances or health condition that makes you more susceptible to COVID, then I am 100% behind you. But “just being scared” just isn’t enough or most people who are at work right now wouldn’t be there - they’d be home.

[Anonymous]

*lay me off

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school teacher here who resents any private school teacher who says they speak for all of us. I am appropriately apprehensive but prefer to teach in person. I was disappointed when my school reversed course and chose to do everything virtually. [/quote}
I am a parochial school teacher who agrees with "appropriately apprehensive" entirely. We are going back in person and I am pleased. And yes, I am in a "high risk" group. But I have studied and in fact given input to our plan, and above all, believe the students need to be in school if we can do it with appropriate precautions - and we are. All the teachers I know agree with this basic stance. I am not sure what the motivation is for all this public hand-wringing, but please don't think it represents all teachers. There are lots and lots of us that are happy to get back to work and are quiet and just get on with our jobs.

Really? Maybe if you think about it for a little bit it will come to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is scared. Teachers are not different than anyone else and I’m so tired of hearing about how THEY feel as if it trumps every other working member of society.

I don't think it's meant to trump anyone else, but just as a response to people demanding they return to work. I'm a lawyer and no one is demanding that I return to work (that I do my work, yes, but not that I do it in person). It's ridiculous.

As you well know, the nature of the job dictates whether it can be done remotely. In some cases, teaching can be done remotely. But for most kids, and especially the youngest and special needs kids, virtual school is not appropriate. It's crazy that schools are acting like virtual school is going to be a substitute for real school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Private school teachers are about to be out of a job when their private schools go out of business due to lack of enrollment after this utter catastrophe

That would be a huge overreaction by parents to a temporary situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school teachers are about to be out of a job when their private schools go out of business due to lack of enrollment after this utter catastrophe

To be clear - the catastrophe here is the pandemic. If schools go under, it is because of the pandemic - not because of teachers, administrators, or county leaders.

The catastrophe is the teachers putting their histrionics ahead of all else and abandoning their students while apparently still expecting to get paid. Until this I had the utmost respect for teachers and supported them financially and emotionally whenever possible. No more. Thanks for nothing, private school teachers.

You are a whiney brat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school teachers are about to be out of a job when their private schools go out of business due to lack of enrollment after this utter catastrophe

Our school suddenly has wait lists for most grades from all the parents switching from publics, but ok.

Our school is doing DL, but everyone I know is thrilled with how they've handled it and I expect that many will donate more than usual this year.

This is true of our shcool for sure. No attrition at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school teachers are about to be out of a job when their private schools go out of business due to lack of enrollment after this utter catastrophe

That would be a huge overreaction by parents to a temporary situation.

How is it an overreaction? Schools are providing less and charging the same or more.

Not every family at every private school is so rich that they do not have to think of the value of the education provided.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents are scared too, OP. There is no playbook for this. It doesn't help that we're getting absolutely ZERO guidance from the county in the way of metrics. Unfortunately, the loudest groups are the parents who insist everyone must go back and teachers be damned, and the teachers who insist that nothing is safe and parents are sending them to their deaths. I think most parents and teachers are more in the middle, and more tempered voices are being drowned out. My personal view is that the only way to see how it will go is to try - even if that means starting small the way some schools are doing and bringing a grade or two back at a time. Give schools a chance to test their plans. Give kids a chance to show they can adapt to less social contact, more computers, more rules. Enforce the hell out of those rules. Stay cautious, but move forward. Otherwise it's all speculation and we'll never get out of this.

All of this, basically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents are scared too, OP. There is no playbook for this. It doesn't help that we're getting absolutely ZERO guidance from the county in the way of metrics. Unfortunately, the loudest groups are the parents who insist everyone must go back and teachers be damned, and the teachers who insist that nothing is safe and parents are sending them to their deaths. I think most parents and teachers are more in the middle, and more tempered voices are being drowned out. My personal view is that the only way to see how it will go is to try - even if that means starting small the way some schools are doing and bringing a grade or two back at a time. Give schools a chance to test their plans. Give kids a chance to show they can adapt to less social contact, more computers, more rules. Enforce the hell out of those rules. Stay cautious, but move forward. Otherwise it's all speculation and we'll never get out of this.

+1. Well put.

I'm a parent and I'm scared too. I am worried about sending my kids back into school buildings, but I am also worried about what a year (or more) at home will do to their development. I also take the health of all parties seriously and don't want anyone to get sick or to die. I am also worried about the health of the community and do not want private school openings to add to community spread.

At the time time, many families, including ours, have taken on a significant financial burden to send our kids to private school to be a part of a school community. It is difficult to accept flat out refusal to at least try to implement measure to bring students back in limited numbers or for limited hours. I have older kids and don't need childcare. In fact, I love having my teens home with me, maybe too much. Unfortunately, as young adults, what they need more than anything is the opportunity to develop socially away their parents and school is a big part of that. I keep hearing teachers say that teaching can be done remotely and that is true to some extent. However, parents and students pick private school based on factors beyond academics, including the school community, activites, sports, and the arts. In fact, that's what most of us remember most from our school days. Any in person component, no matter how small, is helpful in building the connections between the students, their teachers, and the school community.

But I agree, there are no easy answers. I sympathize with teachers, administrators, other parents, and especially the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school teachers are about to be out of a job when their private schools go out of business due to lack of enrollment after this utter catastrophe

That would be a huge overreaction by parents to a temporary situation.

Temporary? I am paying 70K for remote learning for a year. How do you define temporary?