"I will get my education - if it is in home, school, or any place." - Malala Yousafzai
In a matter of weeks, educators will be looking at their professions through an entirely different lens. Parents, children, all of us will be waiting for fall out of decision-making made
by
those who have never stepped into a classroom. The cavalier attitude shown by our government officials is even more concerning. I
listen to the news because I want to be informed and be able to make the
intelligent decisions. I need to in order to go safely back to my job...AS AN
EDUCATOR. What I am listening to and seeing is not very encouraging.
The
questions I have for anyone who is planning our fate, are the following:
"When did teachers become expendable? Has it always been this way and I did
not notice? When did education become an afterthought? " If I have learned
anything these past few months is that it took a pandemic to get me to look at
teaching without the rose-colored glasses. The altruism I had 15 years
ago when I began teaching has clearly dissipated as decisions about my
profession are continually being made by those who think they understand my
profession better than I do or my colleagues do. The educational triage
that teachers have been asked to perform has forced them to go beyond their
skillset and our children were educated regardless. Teachers did their best. Kids can learn
anywhere provided they are monitored and held accountable and guess what?
Success has always started at home with the vigilance and care of parents and
guardians. Whatever public education looks like in September, it has to be a family affair for it to succeed.
Teachers
have been at risk ever since the shootings at Columbine High School, Sandy Hook,
and countless other incidents and no one is saying a thing. Now we have a
crippling health crisis, and everyone has plenty to say and none of it looks
respectful of teachers, administrators, and their endless job
responsibilities. It is about time that the country awakens to not only this
pandemic but to working together to try and educate our young people.
Politically, spiritually, and emotionally, teaching needs to be respected
again. For those wonderful kids and their parents of school years past, you are
in my heart and I know that you understand this quagmire. Why then do not
our political leaders?
I
fully understand that I have been fortunate with my decisions and my
profession. Although immensely difficult from year to year, teaching has given
my life such meaning. A teacher's life should be as meaningful and as valued
as any other profession. It also true that my life in public service is not any more
valuable than anyone else's. There has to be a value placed on the
education and the life skills that public education offers. There has to
be a conscious effort on all of our parts to give our kids a healthy world in
which to live. To live in denial that nothing can happen to them at
school is a travesty.
Teachers
need to plan. They are planners. They are organized and they
understand the severity of taking care of their students. They engage
with every ounce of their physical energy and their emotional energy. You cannot
play "Russian Roulette" hoping that everyone will be happy with
forcing teachers back into an unsafe working environment. Politicians may
believe it is the right decision but the rest of us with any common sense know
otherwise. Teachers are now in the category doctors, nurses, police officers,
emergency medical technicians find themselves. Endangered species.
We are endangered species. Now we get to witness first-hand what our beliefs
really are. Do we care about each other regardless of political
viewpoints? Do we care about each other in spite of others who clearly do
not? As a nation, we have to be on the same page when it comes to
education. What public education will look like has got to take into
consideration our students' well-being and their teachers. We are not sacrificial
lambs.
Public
education has been failing for quite a long time. It has failed in that
not every student needs can be accomodated. There is not as much differentiation to accommodate the passions and talents of our youth. It has failed because if we would
just let teachers find their confidence again, our students would thrive and not be
bored out of their minds. Not every student will want what the government
says they should want or for that fact, big business. We need to get our
kids to communicate appropriately and we need them to function without an Xbox.
Individualizing education means finding the appropriate way for kids to problem
solve and yes...they must be allowed to fail. Let kids fail and they will learn
a whole lot more than if we pat them on the back and send them on their way
thinking they have succeeded when they really have not. To lie to them is
a terrible mistake. Ignorance is infectious too.
The
reason education is being so mitigated at this point is because many people
feel threatened by what they do not know or understand. I know how
that feels because I have felt very fearful about things I do not understand. It
is easy to give up and walk away from difficulty. Ask my "math teacher
guru." This is a natural reaction for many. The trick is to
embrace the idea that the world is an interesting, more compelling place because
of our differences not in spite of them.
We
have roughly eight weeks before school starts in September. September has
the most important meaning for teachers. It is our beginning. It is our
immediate challenge for the year ahead. Keep politics out of
education. Let common sense prevail and let respect for learning take
precedence over political rhetoric. It is time to grow up and understand
that we are in this together. Until the respect is in place, we are in a total,
complete mess. The only way to handle the mess is if we all collaborate
and tell our kids that pandemic or not, you will do your best to learn and
behave appropriately. This may be a democracy, but a parent's last word
is non-negotiable. At this present juncture, the guilt that is being
transferred on both the backs of parents and teachers is so incredibly sad and
unfortunate. No one should be made guilty for wanting to protect their
health or their family's health.
There
are alternatives that appear to be working in other parts of the world.
Denmark seems to have found a reasonable way of scheduling their children, with
small class sizes, the safety of PPE and making sure everyone gets outside in
the sunshine. They started with scheduling younger children and then
rotated bringing in the older students. Students wash their hands every hour
and desks and chairs are sanitized twice daily. Surprisingly, their plans seem
to be phenomenally successful because of strategic scheduling and preparation and
that makes one pause...Are we really looking at whatever countries are doing
to find resolutions to this pandemic? At this juncture, it appears we are
not. We are not in control of this virus yet. We are choosing pride and political rhetoric over common sense. We
are legitimizing ignorance. We are risking everything for an
intangible. The only thing any of us know for sure is that masks and
social distancing work. To think otherwise is a huge disservice. To mitigate the importance of public education is also a disservice. If we do not care about each other, particularly now, everyone loses.
