Allegedly there are several options for the fall none of which include being back full time?
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Anonymous
DP (and the one who said that other essential workers haven’t complained this way): -There are many, many essential workers who absolutely are in small enclosed spaces with *other adults* (aka the ones most likely to spread COVID) all day -Stop looking down on people who have less education than you -You can’t teach people while providing care? Really? Inherent in the job of teaching children, especially young ones, is providing oversight. Is the issue that you think you’re better than a “babysitter”? -I really hope you can develop more appreciation for the emotional work of teaching. Part of the reason I respect (some) teachers so highly is because they get how important their role is. They don’t haughtily describe themselves as “educators” only and ignore the very real emotional care they provide to children |
Anonymous
And I only respect some parents. Some of them just can’t be bothered to do any work at all with their children (the majority of my class) and are angry that they’ve lost their free full time care. I don’t think they’re doing their job supporting the emotional or educational needs of their children, which is an enormous personal failure on their part. We absolutely will not be pushed back to the classroom under unsafe conditions. We’ve worked hard for our rights and we aren’t going to sacrifice them to make your life easier. You assume that you can tell me that you don’t respect me, and then turn around and say that I don’t value other people’s work. You don’t see the irony there? Good luck treating teachers like they owe you a place to deposit your child 5 days a week during a pandemic. They don’t. |
Anonymous
Regardless, comparing teachers to healthcare workers is apples to oranges. My point is that if you work in a hospital, there's an expectation that you will be on the front lines of any healthcare crisis. Being on the front lines is part of their job description, and most people signing up understand that going in. It's like signing up to be in the army reserve and then refusing to go into combat. Most teachers never had that expectation when they signed up, so it's not at all surprising to me that many of them are balking at F2F teaching. They signed up to teach. Not put their lives on the line for a pandemic. I'm sure many of these types of teachers would be more than willing to sign up for distance learning, and I think it's partly why most schools districts are offering some type of full time distance learning option. In addition to the other benefits, it shields the most vulnerable teachers from harm. As for retail workers and other people forced into service, I don't think most of them are doing it out of their own goodwill or some kind of noble sacrifice. They have to work, or they're going to get fired. So they go in. Many of them are very concerned about the health risks, but they have no agency. If they complain they risk getting fired. Teachers on the other hand have unions to protect them. They have the leverage to negotiate an acceptable level of risk, so they're going to use the tools they have available to them. You can shame them all you want, but at the end of the day its their lives on the line. |
Anonymous
You: “I didn't work my way through undergrad and graduate school to be fold sweaters or stock shelves in a supermarket.” I get it. You have nothing but contempt for the parents who work low-paying jobs—often more than one—to make ends meet, and therefore can’t supervise their children when schools shut down. You’re entitled to that belief, you just can’t expect that anyone will respect you for it. (Boy, I hope you’re a troll, but I doubt it.) |
Anonymous
They surveyed parents and found that lower income parents were less likely to want face to face instruction for the fall. It is actually YOU who is disrespecting people who are lower SES by telling them what they want and need. You're entitled to act like a white savior, but you can't expect that anyone will respect you for it. Things I've heard parents on here saying: "I just want to be able to telework productively", "MY child will be showing up at school in the fall without a mask to receive their free and appropriate public education", "Fire all the teachers and replace them with all the millions of smart unemployed people who would be happy to take their jobs", "Teachers need to start doing their part and sacrificing during the pandemic", "I should be paid to help my child with their school work", "We should get our taxes back because DL is a failure", "Teachers are whiners" A lot of the parents in my class don't work in any capacity. I don't know their life story-whatever they do to make ends meet isn't my concern. But don't try to tell me that you speak for the working class. |
Anonymous
| NP here. I personally may not be able to go back to school, but in that case I will simply quit. Surely people think that should be allowed? It is still my right to quit a job. |
Anonymous
I don’t claim to. I also don’t display obvious contempt for them, as you do. And: you are reading WAY more into my comments than is there. I haven’t said a freaking thing about which families want in-person teaching, because I don’t get to tell other people what to do. You’re making all kinds of assumptions about what I think when, really, my issue is with your appalling disdain for poor and working class people. |
Anonymous
No kidding. What a strange argument to make. |
Anonymous
NP. I don't know what the rules are in the US, but it's now clear to me why in Germany, a country with otherwise strong unions (and where teachers also have a union), forbids teachers, and public employees in general, to go on strike. Teaching is considered a public service that needs to be rendered no matter what. The service cannot be held hostage because that would harm the general public, which is not a direct party to the negotiations. |
Anonymous
As public employees, teachers get many benefits. For example, when many, many childcare workers were furloughed during the stay at home order, teachers were not. Frankly, my young kids learned nothing from the brief zoom meetings with their teacher, although I think they did an excellent job given the limitations of the platform for teaching young kids. Teachers are protected because they are valued beyond their ability to show up for work and “perform their duties.” To my kids you are role models, mentors, and so much more. You anchor their learning. That’s why it’s important to have F2F classes as much as possible in the fall. Teachers have value because they develop relationships and facilitate learning for children. It’s hard to do that with DL, especially for young kids. Frankly, there are plenty of people who are likely better DL teachers than MCPS staff because they have been doing it for years and know how to maximize the platform for learning. |
Anonymous
Not a teacher and I totally agree. I think the same people on here and on FB who bitch and moan about schools JUST HAVE to be open have the financial privilege and job security to keep their kids home but they just don't want bothered. |
Anonymous
Seems pretty entitled on the part of a teacher to expect the parents to do a good part of their job, which is what it amounts to when you deal with young elementary students. The "virtual" teacher is pretty much useless, and what I am doing is homeschooling. And frankly, that's what I'll likely do if we have DL. |
Anonymous
Protestors were outdoors and largely wearing masks. Schools will be indoors with crappy MCPS HVAC system. |
Anonymous
| Good point - this report came out recently (https://schools.forhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2020/06/Harvard-Healthy-Buildings-Program-Schools-For-Health-Reopening-Covid19-June2020.pdf) and talks about the importance of filtering indoor air in schools. |
Anonymous
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Just a few things teachers are expected to do:
Buy supplies with their own money. Be an educator Be a social worker Be a disciplinarian without the power to discipline Respond to complaints from parents because Larla is so smart she is bored and that's why she acts out. Be a special education teacher Thrown themselves in front of a school shooter. |