Will COVID-19 be the needle that finally bursts the sports bubble?

Almost every teacher I know is a good person who is dedicated to educating their students. The question is whether that dedication is sufficient for them to be willing to sacrifice their lives to do so.

I find it difficult to scold or shame those who are not willing to take that risk, especially if their state/city is not doing enough to keep them safe on the job.

 

I will sacrafice my time if it means helping a kid.

I will sacrafice my money if it means a kid has something they need but otherwise can't buy.

I will sacrafice my life if it keeps my kids safe from an active threat.

But will I sacrafice my life or the lives of my older colleagues to have kids in school? You are clueless.

 

Still think this dude's not a troll?

You can't sneak a fart past Howard Stern and you can't sneak a troll past this guy, either.

 

And there is the issue of between 10-25% of all students and staff not reporting to school in the fall.

 

I just don’t know what to tell you. I wish your state and your kids the best of luck.

If a teacher doesn’t want to do it, I understand that. By and large a lot of them would be willing.

What will it take to change your mind? A vaccine? Better treatment? Trump not being in office? What?

 

I mean, grocery store clerks are risking their lives. Garbage collectors. Cops. Firefighters. Should they? Should anyone?

 

A real plan to keep kids and teachers safe. A vaccine would be best but we're not getting it before August.

I want to know how we're keeping class sizes down. Will masks be mandatory? Temp checks? What is cleaning going to be like? What happens if a kid gets it? Will teachers be given weekly checks?

Actually that's where I'm at. 1)Everyone must wear a mask
2) kids are divided into cohorts, probably weekly cohorts
3) teachers and kids who cannot be in groups will be given accomodations
4) teachers receive regular testing (weekly. Twice weekly)
5) classrooms receive deep cleanings before new cohorts arrive.

This notion of we must rush back because kids need people is idiotic. Yes they need contacts and especially in my district school can be a haven, but we need to keep people safe. If I can't be told specific steps for how kids, families and teachers will be kept safe, then forget reopening schools.

 

1) Grocery clerks: Most if not all work in places with reduced capacity and social distancing.
2) Sanitation workers' jobs have not changed. Those jobs have always been unsanitary. They know this when they sign on. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says garbage collection is more dangerous than being a cop or firefighter.
The 10 most dangerous jobs in America
They are therefore criminally underpaid, I suspect.
3) Cops and firefighters: They also know the hazards of their professions. Simply taking this responsibility is an act of courage for which society generally lauds them. But every day they go to work, they know they could die.
All of these differ from teachers both generally and in this Trumpandemic.
Teaching is not supposed to be an inherently dangerous job. Nobody becomes a teacher knowing there's a better-than-average chance that he or she will die on the job on any given day. This is part of why teachers don't make as much as cops. (Although I'm shocked to learn that the gap isn't that large. BLS says the average cop makes about $67,800 while the average elementary and middle school teacher checks in at about $63,000).
Working particularly as a teacher of young kids in the Trumpandemic is especially challenging because unlike customers at a grocery store, the occupants of the room are especially likely to ignore social-distancing guidelines. Do we know yet how districts are going to handle the elementary school segment? Will attendance be limited?

 

Those teacher salaries vary wildly.

Several years ago I was looking to get out of the business. A high school not far from me was looking for someone to teach TV production and History of Motion Pictures. I've worked in TV for decades and was a film major. (My dad also taught History of Motion Pictures in high school for 30 - 40 years.) It seemed like a pretty promising transition.

With bonuses and credits for experience, etc., they could get me up to a starting salary around $33k.

Nope.

 

True. Probably more than most professions, teacher salaries will vary not just because of cost of living but because of value of education. Many Trumpist states would prefer that public education simply go away for a variety of reasons.

 

COVID won't prevent this from continuing:

Taxpayers Still on the Hook for Stadium Debts, Even Though Coronavirus Canceled Sports