Teachers and Childcare Workers Can Not Hold the Weight of This

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ols. I am open to following best practices and turning my 5th grade into a digital class quickly and without complaint. I am flexible and willing. I absolutely love my job, as I have been teaching since 1998.</p><p id="a74a">It is physically uncomfortable to be masked all day, but I am getting used to it. I am getting used to entertaining the same 5 kids all day. Like I said, summer camp is good practice.</p><p id="b1c0">However, there are so many questions that simply cannot be answered right now. We are being asked to completely change our learning environments from nurturing, community oriented, collaborative and close work spaces to confined spaces with 13 kids in tight boxes. No shared supplies, no sitting on the rug to enjoy a story or have a lesson delivered where kids can turn and talk to a partner.</p><figure id="f9da"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*gu8mV4w0GIH-hvdb"><figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@cdc?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=referral">CDC</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=referral">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><p id="cca8">What happens when we need substitute teachers? This is already a huge stress for teachers. It can be so difficult that teachers often end up going to school sick. Never mind COVID19, what if I have a fever, and it is a regular illness that just requires a couple of days off work? Who can/will just jump in to sub for me?</p><p id="208d">What about kids who are just being kids? When a child sees something cool, everyone runs over to see it too. What about kids who are non-compliant?</p><p id="45b9">What about kids who have specific learning accommodations? How will this be handled when kids have to be in straight rows measured 6 feet apart, and we really should not be that close to them to see their work?</p><p id="ac06" type="7">Schools seem to be the historic scapegoat. Teachers have always been expected t

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o fix society, to develop a competitive nation without having the support and respect they need and deserve to educate our children. -S. R. Lazar</p><p id="8d07">When I wrote this article, I was not considering what would happen if we had to teach during a pandemic.</p><div id="a3a8" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/education-needs-a-true-revision-487564556b86"> <div> <div> <h2>Education Needs a True Revision</h2> <div><h3>If I had three minutes in an elevator with you and you actually asked me what I thought about school reform:</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*7mN9xkjS3CipO9lS)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="4ea7">I understand that in order for the economy to revive, we have to get the work- force back to work, and that means parents need their kids to go somewhere. I get it.</p><p id="0780">I just wish the people mandating that teachers and childcare workers hold all the weight (and guilt-tripping us if we don’t) try to understand schools a little more, and maybe the profession can gain the respect it deserves.</p><p id="6767"><b>We all are going to need a lot of support next month.</b></p><p id="09cc">© <a href="https://medium.com/@LazarSamantha">Samantha Lazar</a> 2020</p><p id="1ae7">Thank you for reading. <a href="https://readmedium.com/samantha-lazar-c5019b3dee5e">I’m a teaching and writing mom.</a> I write poetry, fiction, and essays in celebration of being a Mom, Wife, Educator, Writer, & Lover of Life. ❤POMpoet❤ Follow my 2020 <a href="https://medium.com/sky-collection/tagged/sky-collection">Sky Collection</a> Project, and <a href="https://upscri.be/givew3">subscribe</a> to my newsletter to keep up to date!</p></article></body>

We need our leaders and the community to share the load

I totally get it. I am a mom. I need my child to go back to school. I need the world to feel normal again. I worry about his social isolation and what the screen-time will do to all of us, long-term.

I understand that we all need to work, to support our families, to get the hell out of the house.

I am grateful that both my husband and I can work from home as long as the internet is working. But that time is quickly coming to an end.

I am a teacher.

For the past two weeks, my school has experimented with small cohorts of students as we opened up for summer camp. Each group of 4–8 students stays with their own group all day. Their work spaces are 6 feet apart, everyone has their temperature taken before entering the building, we all wear masks, and we sanitize and wash constantly. This is what experts say is best practice.

This is good practice for August when it seems we will all be “mandated” to return to school until COVID19 reaches the community, and we switch to on-line learning. Planning for all of this over the summer is daunting to say the very least. We are all anxious. People (especially government officials) who do not work at schools or childcare centers cannot know all the specific details that go into running a school.

I work at a school that has about 250 kids total. That is a tiny population compared to most public schools. I am open to following best practices and turning my 5th grade into a digital class quickly and without complaint. I am flexible and willing. I absolutely love my job, as I have been teaching since 1998.

It is physically uncomfortable to be masked all day, but I am getting used to it. I am getting used to entertaining the same 5 kids all day. Like I said, summer camp is good practice.

However, there are so many questions that simply cannot be answered right now. We are being asked to completely change our learning environments from nurturing, community oriented, collaborative and close work spaces to confined spaces with 13 kids in tight boxes. No shared supplies, no sitting on the rug to enjoy a story or have a lesson delivered where kids can turn and talk to a partner.

What happens when we need substitute teachers? This is already a huge stress for teachers. It can be so difficult that teachers often end up going to school sick. Never mind COVID19, what if I have a fever, and it is a regular illness that just requires a couple of days off work? Who can/will just jump in to sub for me?

What about kids who are just being kids? When a child sees something cool, everyone runs over to see it too. What about kids who are non-compliant?

What about kids who have specific learning accommodations? How will this be handled when kids have to be in straight rows measured 6 feet apart, and we really should not be that close to them to see their work?

Schools seem to be the historic scapegoat. Teachers have always been expected to fix society, to develop a competitive nation without having the support and respect they need and deserve to educate our children. -S. R. Lazar

When I wrote this article, I was not considering what would happen if we had to teach during a pandemic.

I understand that in order for the economy to revive, we have to get the work- force back to work, and that means parents need their kids to go somewhere. I get it.

I just wish the people mandating that teachers and childcare workers hold all the weight (and guilt-tripping us if we don’t) try to understand schools a little more, and maybe the profession can gain the respect it deserves.

We all are going to need a lot of support next month.

Thank you for reading. I’m a teaching and writing mom. I write poetry, fiction, and essays in celebration of being a Mom, Wife, Educator, Writer, & Lover of Life. ❤POMpoet❤ Follow my 2020 Sky Collection Project, and subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date!