Teachers are People, Too
I got out just in time. The 2018-19 school year will be looked back on as the last of its kind for quite a while. Kids dropped off at bus stops or on curbs worried about tests and friendships and try-outs and if their crush is going to look at them. The normal concerns of children.
This part of summer is usually the sweet spot for most educators. The stress of last year has eased, vacations and R&R are abound (reading their own books, sleeping in, stepping away from email, persuing hobbies). The specter of August 1 (or July 32…) is there, but the long summer days keep the dread at arms length.
This summer is totally different. Many teachers haven’t been in the classroom since March after their entire profession was turned on its head. This summer, they’re participating in zoom calls with administrators for updates on plans for the fall (or, if they’re not so lucky, they’re totally in the dark…). The idea of the first day of school typically brought jitters and butterflies, but it was always positive and upbeat. The excitement of possibility, a new idea born over the summer will seed and blossom and transform how kids think about a topic or the world in general. Now, the questions aren’t around when the class should read The Giver, but if kids can share the book. The question won’t be about kids running in the hallways but kids climbing the walls while they spend the entire day in one classroom while teachers visit them.
It might seem a bit callous to say, but I am relieved that I don’t have to worry about returning to a classroom this fall. Are there other worries that exist in my life? Of course (like finding a full-time job…). But I am glad I’m not heading into August and September wondering if I’m going to be in a classroom Monday-Friday and then concerned if I can visit my 70 year-old mom on the weekend. I’m glad I have the capability to work from home, be on zoom calls, and be in charge of my own safety. I’m glad I’m not worried about parents sitting juuuust of screen listening in on my virtual class simply to judge my lesson (I’ve heard of this happening).
If there was ever a year to care about teachers, to show them some love and respect and give them a break (parents, I am looking right at you), it’s this year. If teachers return to school, it’s for the sake of the children, but it’s also for the greater good of our country. If kids are safe at school then parents can go to work and the economy can recover. However, that domino effect can’t be at the expense of teachers and kids. It has to be done carefully and it might have to be done slowly. We had six months as a country to get our act together and we didn’t. Time slipped by and now it’s the night before the test and we never studied. This test can’t be crammed for and it isn’t “true/false” where we can just wing it and hope to pass. This is the hardest test the educational system has taken. Ever.
The old joke about the shock of seeing a teacher out and about on the weekend shopping or at a restaurant rings more true than ever these days. At its core, the gist of the joke is that teachers don’t feel real to us. They don’t have a life, they climb into a box in their classroom at the end of the day and recharge their battery-packs (how else can you teach first grade?). Now, we’re sneaking up on that joke becoming a reality. The personality-less teacher who has no life beyond the walls of the school, so why should we worry about them? Let them take our children so the country can return to “normal.” It’s a dangerous idea, but I think it’s driving the push to reopen schools. The mentality that teachers are merely there to serve others leaves them vulnerable when a sacrifice is necessary. Yes, other professionals have sacrificed, too. Medical staff and emergency workers and those in the service industries.
Just remember that teachers are people, too. They have parents to look after. They have their own families to care for and keep safe. Don’t treat them as a means to an end this year. It will only end badly for all of us.