Let’s Be Clear: Teachers Want to Come Back to the Classroom

Teachers are not new to facing health issues but COVID-19 is different

We ARE Teachers. We have BEEN teachers. We KNOW our craft. We KNOW our students. We are ESSENTIAL. We are on the FRONTLINE…always have been and always will be. COVID-19 struck the United States and more specifically education, like a whirlwind. One day schools were open and the next they were closed. Now that this nation is knee-deep in the pandemic schools are announcing plans to re-open rather face to face, digital or hybrid. No matter what is decided many of the assumptions being made of teachers who voice their concerns about face to face plans to return to school are incorrect, unfair, and disrespectful.

Let’s be clear… As a teacher, we want nothing more than to return to school. We want to be able to see our students and for many of us hug their necks and look into their eyes to make sure they are okay. When teachers say they would feel safer returning to school via distancing learning it is not done with a light heart or a novice mind. Teachers know the risks and reasons why returning to in-person school is about much more than academics but we also know that safety for teachers and students is always at the forefront; and with COVID-19 it can affect the families of students and teachers as well.

Teachers are consistently on the frontline of American society. K-12 public schools house many of the nation’s students, and teachers cannot control which students walk into their classroom. There are constant discussions on how to teach with the barriers that accompany many of our students, such as socioeconomic status and lack of parental support. However, when it comes to health issues that students have, teachers face it head-on with no personal protective equipment in sight and little to no effective cleaning supplies except the ones personally purchased. From students with viruses and infections to mental health issues teachers are expected to handle these students, rather medically trained or not; and we do- every day when we walk in a classroom. With input from current teachers, the following is a list of the most common student health issues that teachers face in a normal school year. Asthma, Attention Deficit (Hyperactive) Disorder (ADD/ ADHD), anxiety (mild to serve), autoimmune disorders, depression, diabetes, influenza, herpes simplex I (cold sores), mental health issues (depression, bi-polar, suicidal), seizures, sickle-cell, and strep throat.

Teachers are not new to confronting health issues every day. Many student health issues do not directly affect teacher health but for those that do, such as viral or bacterial infection, there are approved vaccines that can help with prevention and approved medicines to use for treatment. There are also tests readily available for infections such as the flu, which has been compared to COVID-19, and results are quick unlike that of COVID-19 testing, which has been extremely problematic in many areas of the country. No matter which medical professional is giving an opinion, it seems that most scientists and doctors agree on one fact- there is still a lot that is unknown about this novel Coronavirus, which makes this new territory not just for schools but for the country as well.

Even with all this in mind, a larger number of teachers STILL want to return to school, just with proper safety protocols. As Randi Weingarten, the Head of the American Federation of Teachers, stated in her USA Today Opinion,

“Teachers are not waiting for a vaccine to reopen schools; they know in-person schooling is really important for kids, academically, socially and emotionally. But particularly as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in many states, teachers and our students need both a real plan to reopen safely and the resources to do so.”

According to a poll given by the American Federation of Teachers, 76% of educators support going back to school if there are proper safeguards in place as called for by the Centers for Disease Control. Some of these safeguards include daily deep cleaning and sanitizing of school facilities, physical distancing, masks, and other appropriate personal protective equipment, ventilation, and reasonable accommodations for those most at risk.

Teachers, like parents and the rest of society, are ready to return to life as we knew it before the pandemic. Schools are not like grocery stores, restaurants, or other public venues. Schools are full of immature students, many of whom already have problems following directions, and are there because they have to be. In public people pick and choose where they want to go and, in many instances, who they would like to come in contact with. Teachers do not get a choice. Teachers have students come and give a hug before they can even turn around to see which student is hugging them. Teachers do not have a choice when a fight breaks out in a classroom and has to break it up and/or keep other students back. Teachers do not have a choice when a student has a seizure and has to immediately get on the ground to ensure the student does not hurt themselves while waiting for a nurse that is hopefully in the building. Teachers do not have a choice when there are no substitutes available and have to go between classes to make sure students are being monitored. Teachers do not have a choice in many of the situations we are confronted with daily and right now teachers should not be forced to go back into schools that have not been properly funded to make the changes needed to increase safety during this unprecedented pandemic.

K-12 public schools are vitally important in this country as they are the place where students are fed, protected, and educated. COVID-19 has also birthed the new education reality-Teachers are the nation’s babysitters as well as the nation’s economic saviors. This can be summed up with one statement:

For the economy to improve, people need to get back to work and parents cannot do that without having schools for their children to go to.

Teachers KNOW how important school is and all the reasons for face to face learning over digital learning. We know that nothing is 100% and no school can guarantee full safety but there has to be an extensive effort to try.

Let’s be clear…Teachers are ready to come back to the classroom but safely! The “powers that be” need to provide funding to ensure that students, teachers, administrators and support staff are provided with protections to create a safe environment so that we can do what we LOVE and MISS and that is being with our students!

JM