Our district is currently discussing the three possible scenarios for the fall: schools reopen as usual, schools reopen as a hybrid model, or schools continue remotely.
My question is, if schools reopen in the fall as usual or as a hybrid, without a vaccine, but need to follow social distancing guidelines..would you go in?
The majority of teachers in my school (middle school grades 6-8) say absolutely not!
I probably will, as long as the kids are required to wear masks- not merely suggested, but that it's a school rule AND if we are only dealing with half the kids so we can actually socially distance in the classroom.
Oh, and I wanted to say that I really wonder if school administrators have even considered that some teachers will not come back if they do school in person. What are they going to do then? Are they even going to ask teachers what their plans are? If so, when?
Also, what are they going to do if teachers have to call in sick, which they'll have to do at a much greater rate than normal, because if they have ANY symptoms that are vaguely Covid-like (and there is a long list of symptoms) they aren't supposed to be at work, will they have enough subs? I mean, it's not like they can just double up the classes with the other grade level teachers like they use to do in my district.
I will if that's the only way to stay employed, but I'd rather not.
If we had some kids continue distance learning and others attend school in the building and they asked each grade level for a volunteer, I'd be the first to volunteer to do the distance learning. And I despise distance learning in kindergarten and teaching it. But I'd rather do that than expose my family to more germs at this point.
Absolutely. I'm praying that we get to go in. I'm in kinder so I don't expect masks or social distancing. I'd rather just stay in my bubble of kids and not intermingle with the rest of the school.
I’m not worried about catching it because I’m not in a risk group that is likely to have major complications, but I am worried about older coworkers and kids whose primary guardians are grandparents.
I will go in, although I'm dreading all of the new "safety" measures. We've already been told for sure masks are required- it's going to be awful wearing a mask 8+ hours per day. Plus policing children wearing masks (I see this potentially going away due to push back from parents), social distancing measures, trying to make kids sit isolated in desks all day? I'm really having a hard time picturing how any of this works.
Districts around here are discussing having an online only option for families who aren't comfortable sending kids in, and they are trying to match up teachers who want to teach only online. Of course the numbers will probably not perfectly match up. I'm in a low SES district and suspect we will have very few parents who would choose that option- they don't have the luxury of staying home with their children during the school day. Most districts have also said teachers will have the option of taking a "sabbatical" (where their position is held, but they won't get paid) if they aren't comfortable working next year. This would at least be better than having to resign.
I wouldn't have a choice. If I want to keep my job, I'd have to go in. So I hope that whatever safety measures they take are adequate, because I and many members of my family are vulnerable to this virus.
If they needed someone to teach online next yr, I'd do it happily.
We are getting ready for a surge of tourists coming in for the summer despite quarantines in place. ( They are not enforced.)
We have not close to hit our peak here. After tourists, school will start. What is going to happen after 1 person is sick? School will have to close again. I hope our district has the sense to keep it closed.
Kids will not wear masks. Heck, they don't remember to walk in the hall.
I have witnessed more booger pickers and pencil chewers. It is not going to be safe here.
I have to honestly say that the thought of going back in to the building under these circumstances scares me to death. I may or may not be immune compromised, I am not sure, but I am 51 years old so I need to be careful.
I will be looking for a work at home job over the summer, but am not sure what my chances are of getting something. 40 million people are our of work so that might be very competitive.
If I can’t find that type of job by fall and they make us go in, I guess I will have no choice. I just hope I can survive it.
We opened fully last Monday. Full classes, no social distancing required between students. Staff must distance from each other, though. Children don’t carry or spread the virus so it’s all fine.
Yeah, I don’t believe it either - the government wants parents back to work and businesses open. There has been no Covid in our town since early April, and only three cases connected to the Ruby Princess, so I’m not desperately worried right now. I do worry that a second wave will be Inevitable, at least in the city.
I would. I want to go back. I’m not worried and will abide by the precautions set forth. I’m not young, either.
Maybe I should be worried but I’m surprisingly not. I am still
staying mostly home, always wear a mask when I do go out, so haven’t had an “opportunity” to be exposed. I wonder if my feelings will change as it becomes more of a reality? Not sure...
Last edited by eliza4one; 05-29-2020 at 10:03 PM..
Yes, I'd go in. We are in portables with 28 students. Zero room for spreading desks out, etc. I don't worry about returning, social distancing, and I'm not worried about anyone wearing masks. Of course, I would follow the rules that are implemented. I wouldn't get a vaccine shot even if they developed one.
Last edited by desert flower; 05-29-2020 at 11:13 PM..
The “children don’t carry or share the virus” is the government position here. Nobody believes it. I was being extremely sarcastic. Australian teachers are both canaries down the mine and cannon fodder in the governments desperation to get back to normal economically.
I am in a K - 8 school and am at the point in my career where I still need to work at least 3 more years to satisfy the 25 years of service. I also need my health insurance as I had cancer 5 years ago and have an increased possibility of recurrence.
That said, I would rather teach my students remotely, but if I had to I would return in the fall. I am so torn and concerned everyone's safety.
At this point, my district is saying the return in the fall will be all or nothing. It will either be safe to normally start school, or we will begin in a remote learning situation. There is no way we can meet the logistics of social distancing, ie, running half day schedules, only 13 students per bus, etc. i understand it, but it still scares me to think of putting 1500 jr/sr high students and staff into one building.
Unless we can go back to school like normal, which I know we basically can't, I wish I could just get in a time machine and Flash Forward a year, because the other options I've heard are just soul crushing for all and I just really don't want to have to do them! ( elem. School)
So, I guess I will have to see what the district comes up with for options for us.
I am 56 and don't have underlying conditions, but I live with someone in a higher risk category ( very overweight, 59, and who knows what else because they refuse to ever go for a physical despite all my " reminders" ( at least 15+ years now) )
I teach middle school self- contained moderate/ severe special education students. Most are non-verbal and require hand over hand assistance for a majority of work. I’m not seeing how the proposed guidelines would work in my type of class.
Last edited by Purplecrayons; 05-30-2020 at 10:48 AM..
I don't want to go back. I am in the Northeast and we have many staff members and school families that have lost someone to the virus. I dread opening my email each day because we keep getting notices about the deaths in the district. We had a zoom meeting with administration where they talked about what next year would look like if we go back. The bathrooms will have to be disinfected every time a class goes in to use the bathroom. Kids will only be allowed to play with their own bin of toys. No toy sharing, no playing together at recess. I can't imagine the little ones being taught to play alone in their own play space. This violates everything we about socializing children. Will there be gym? Can kids sing in school?
I have a second online teaching job teaching English and I am seriously considering doing that full time. I am older and have an underlying medical condition. There is no way little ones are going to keep masks on. There have been many cases on the news here of kids with the inflammatory disease that kids get from Covid 19.
The other part of this equation is that we all have parents who send kids to school sick. I've had kids come to school really sick and when I ask them if they told mom or dad, they'd tell me mom said to go to the nurse if I still feel sick. I know of a family that sends their kids to school sick and doses them with Tylenol because they can't take off from work. Our nurse has to constantly call parents and remind them that their child can't come back to school for 24 hours after they vomited or had a fever.
If I had a choice to online only, I would do it in a heartbeat.
Like PP, I teach self-contained special ed. Remote learning does not work for my students and neither will in-person under the proposed guidelines. I don't trust my administration to enforce things like social distancing and wearing a mask.
We have regular-ed students roaming the halls and striking teachers who ask them to put their phone away.
No way are these middle schoolers going to wear mask or stay in their seat all day.
And, also like PP, I had students come to school sick all the time and no one would come pick them up and they would be sent back to class.
I wish we could get to June 2021 as quickly as possible!
That being said, I will go in. I hate distance learning and don’t think it is effective. Kids need to be in school for their academic learning, and social/emotional health. (Homeschooling can be good for many students, too, if the parents are actually teaching, but distance learning isn’t a good thing.)
I have read that studies indicate young people aren’t at great risk from this virus— the healthy, under 25 crowd has more of a risk from dying of the flu. Also, people aren’t catching this from kids. Yes, yes... there is much we don’t know about the virus and scientists don’t know much about it.. so this could be wrong information.
I would prefer hybrid learning of some sort. Maybe half-days for students, twice a week, with only half a class. My district is in a terrible financial hole, though, and will be laying off necessary teachers, not hiring more. So I don’t know how this would work. I really feel for our PE and Electives teachers. How can you teach woodshop online???
I am currently working on my online curriculum for the fall. I plan to have my entire curriculum ready to go with all directions, activities, and assignments built into sequential Canvas modules before the year starts.
I took measurements of my kidney table when I cleaned out my room last week. My dad will be making me a curved plexiglass sneeze shield to cover the length of my table.
I mapped out the air vents, windows, and doors in my room and have an engineer/construction friend I plan to consult to tell me how best to circulate air by adding extra box fans and where the best place for my desk will be.
I plan to make a large batch of masks to have on hand for my kids to wear in the room. I don't know if they'll be expected to wear them all day (although safest, that sounds awful to me), but I do think I will refuse to work up close with a student or allow them to be near each other unless they're wearing a mask.
If we're online, my curriculum will be ready to go. If we're hybrid/fully in person, I will spend the day sitting behind my plexiglass shield at my table while my students do the online curriculum at their seats. We'll break up the monotony of the work with some interactive activities (online or safely distanced). I will work with individuals and small groups while the rest of the class does their online work. Depending on the current outbreak levels we'll do that from opposite sides of the plexiglass or by arranging google hangouts (yes, even with a kid sitting 20 feet away from me.)
I've really enjoyed online teaching. I have a 2.5 year old and my husband is also a teacher. We've had a blast hanging out all together these past few months, and we have a really good work-from-home routine. I would gladly teach this way again in the fall. BUT, I know it's not best for my students, so I'm also willing to go back into the classroom.
That said, while my district is doing a good job overall, I don't expect them to think through all the little things that will help me stay safe in the classroom. So I fully plan to do those things myself. If they're not okay with the extra safety measures I take, I'll have to make a decision from there. I've always been someone who's willing to help out however I can, but I also have healthy boundaries and don't struggle to say no. I will take on a small amount of careful, calculated risk by coming back into the building safely, but I will not allow myself to be put in a situation where my health or the health of my family could be at risk.
Yes, I will go in. There are so many reasons why, but the bottom line is that it’s what’s best for kids, but more importantly, it’s what’s best for me.
I have to stay in our state retirement system for another year and a half, but I damned sure don't have to stay in the district if they don't require and enforce masks. I have a feeling they won't. I hate moving, and I really don't want to be very far away from the reservation, but I'm afraid of what will happen here. Our district is especially slimey too, and have told us absolutely nothing. Oh, yeah, and from what I hear, the district also has about the highest rate of infection in the country.
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05-29-2020, 06:04 PM
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I will take on a small amount of careful, calculated risk by coming back into the building safely, but I will not allow myself to be put in a situation where my health or the health of my family could be at risk.
