A person I follow on Facebook just posted the shower curtain/pipe desk separating picture where it “only” costs $100 to make a set. She added the comment about how her teacher friends should all be doing this if “they cared about their students”. I may have left a snarky comment.
You will not guilt me into rigging a barrier. That is something the district/state needs to provide. I’m not taking the liability for that.
I've seen that post too. My response was "Why should individual teachers absorb the cost for this?"
We, as a whole, spend way too much of our own money on necessities the school should provide. If schools are going to open safely, then all CDC guidelines must be followed. The schools need to provide all necessary equipment to do so.
I doubt there will be enough wipes and hand sanitizer to get us all up and running. And asking parents to supply that is crazy even prior to Covid.
I am not spending one red cent on my classroom(s) this year and I absolutely refuse to spend anything COVID related. The district can purchase it or it isn’t happening.
Shame on that teacher for trying to guilt people into doing it. If she feels so strongly about it, she can make them for all the classrooms.
I agree with other posters. I refuse to pay for cleaning supplies or barriers or masks/face shields for my students (the district is not providing masks).
My district actually sent out a memo saying that due to fire codes we are not allowed to build any barriers out of shower curtains or any other materials. The only thing allowable would be items purchased/installed by the district, which has not happened.
Im glad she thinks we all should do that. It’s not our job to do anything like that. I’m not spending a dime on anything. If the district wants us back, they have to provide everything. I might not even decorate.
This was a prediction I made several weeks ago - that some teachers would go over the top to get back into the classroom. I agree with all of you, no way would I spend one penny on Covid related materials. That is all on admin, state and feds.
It just another example of sending the wrong message to the community “look, teachers are superheroes.” Well, we are, but if we keep spending all our time and money on things the district should be providing, the community thinks everything is hunky dorie.
We have a litigious society. I would not be personally providing PPE. I foresee some parent trying to sue saying that your Covid preventions were not adequate and his/ her child contacted Covid due to your negligence.
I have a teacher friend who made these barriers as well as many other things to help with distancing and COVID spread. I didn't have the heart to tell her it would never pass the fire inspection. Plastic Shower curtains are flammable.
I too am not buying anything this year for my classroom. I did look for hand sanitizer but have not found any. I will be cleaning my area with my own supplies on top of what the custodians do. I can hardly find disinfecting supplies and I am sure parents will have a hard time as well. If the school wants us back they need to be the ones cleaning and suppling the necessary products. I am really leery of our custodial staff's cleaning hopefully someone checks on them and they do a better job than in years past.
Yes to what sportsmom88 said. Our custodian has always refused to clean our desks or personal work areas and I am perfectly ok with that. I usually clean up and put things away so I can spray my desk every night before I go home anyway so I plan to continue that practice. I will extend this to door knobs, pencil sharpener, and sink area just to be sure it's done. It will protect me just as much as my students and I'm not leaving my safety to someone who might not care.
Edit to add that I use disinfecting spray that is provided by the school. The custodian has always been happy to provide me with a bottle and some cleaning rags every time I ask.
That is a huge liability issue, as well as a huge expense. I saw it on Facebook, and wouldn't even consider it. This is why our education departments get away with not providing stuff - we do it for them, at our own expense. The leaders must laugh at us so much.
I am also not spending a cent in my room this year, although re-using things I've bought in the past. It isn't my job to provide soap, sanitiser, tissues, or pencils. I'm paid to teach, not equip the classroom.
I saw that too. No way! I am not going to spend my money to clean, etc. my classroom. If I’m to go back full time, in person, then the government will have to provide funding. I’m not holding my breath - the current number I’m seeing is 7 cents/student/day. I will have personal hand sanitizer and I’ll have Lysol for my own space, but I do that anyway.
I’ve bought PVC pipes before. It will cost way more than $100 for a classroom.
I’m arranging my 24 desks as far apart as possible, marking desks as “no use”, and calling it done. I should have max 15 kids per class. Most of my kids are coming in person. I did buy clear shower curtains. I’m hanging them around my desk, essentially making myself an office. I have enough so that I can block off other things like bookshelves, etc. Cost $18. That’s the least I’ve ever spent on my classroom.
I'm buying cleaning supplies for my own use, at least what I can find. I refuse to provide Covid cleaning and/or safety materials. If we are forced back into the classroom in two weeks, the district should provide these.
Ima, I love the idea of the clear shower curtain area around your desk! I'm not spending anything on my classroom this year (unless I steal the shower curtain idea). Too much is unknown.
I saw that on Facebook also, but the sweet lady offered to pay the cost for the teacher.
I think I'd be tempted to say something like "Oh, this is a great idea! Would you be willing to cover the cost for me? Also, if you know someone who could put them together, that would be awesome. I'm spending my time working on virtual and face-to-face lessons and restructured plans right now, but I do think it's a good concept."
Any bets on long it will take for the kids to start poking holes in them with their pencils? ...... I'm going to say by lunchtime on the first day. I hope I'm wrong because it looks like she put a lot of time, money, and effort to help create a safe environment for her students, but reality and experience tell me otherwise. If they are confined to one classroom and sitting in desks all day they are going to get antsy and start poking. Some/Many exhibit those behaviors under normal circumstances.
Definitely not happening. Plus our health department has told us that it’s not effective due to how the particles hang in the air. I was picturing it being a fully enclosed cube, like those soccer mom chairs with the zipper sides.
You read my mind. I don't get having them grouped whats the point to that. I would get all my students around the perimeter of the room as many as I could with the distance requirement. Should get at least 3 per wall maybe 4. A few could be in the center. I guess all rooms using tables are going to have a tough time with spacing. Every kinder room I've been in has four tables and 20 + students. Can't see that working.
on Reddit recently. Reddit has a r/teachers group. People there mentioned these same concerns and complaints.
Some even went so far as to claim teachers like her are the reason we are all consistently underfunded. Folks in the public sector count on teachers to step up out of pocket if they (the public/givernment) do not.
Like most of us, I admit I spend far too much every year--but not generally for infrastructure stuff. I buy snacks or decorations or cute markers-- I wouldn't buy a handrail for the restroom, a window pane or a new doorknob or whatever. To me, the classroom barriers for students fall into that category.
I hope she checked for CDC guidelines, county health officials, or checked with the COVID hot line to determine if this type of measure would be beneficial. At the very least the maintenance superintendent would have to approve it by inspection . Our state is very picky about infrastructure that is free standing.
This would have to be cleaned periodically throughout the day and it could prove to get filmy.
I wondered if this would be stable enough so kids can't accidentally knock it over.
Fire department here would never allow shower curtains to be used as dividers. Of course, that doesn’t mean some teacher wouldn’t do it and a principal wouldn’t encourage it. It would last until the pre first day fire inspection and then the principal would act surprised (even though we’ve had the same fire regulation for years)
Last edited by marguerite2; 07-27-2020 at 01:17 PM..
I saw another one where a kindergarten teacher went out and purchased yoga mats and lap desks so the kids could sit on the floor and knew where their boundaries were. I mean, it's a great idea but not if it comes out of the teacher's pocket. Yoga mats aren't cheap, are they?
Like some of you, I've spent way too many $$$ over the years on classroom materials. And I was okay with it, I truly enjoyed giving good things to my students. BUT, as soon as someone says teachers have an OBLIGATION to spend on their students....um, NO. I'd like to know how much some of those posters have spent on other people's kids. I'm guessing no where NEAR as much as the average teacher.
This year I have really clamped down on buying things for the classroom because I own a house now and that's my priority. I have also started to think more about how providing things for my class myself could affect other teachers. It is unfair to have it as an expectation + I don't want to contribute to that.
I saw a picture at my kid’s school and the tables had plastic dividers in the middle...good for a test not a pandemic. The kids aren’t spaced, they have to face each other, the dividers don’t reach edges of table and the germs/air can easily go around or above it.....
The clue is that she made it about caring about students instead of bringing teacher safety into the conversation at all. I'm tired of not even being in the equation.
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07-24-2020, 06:46 AM
