QUARANTINE LIFE: PROTECT THE CHILDREN

I was a teacher. 

Parents sent sick children to school all the time. It's not a new phenomena. 

The buddy system, that relies on everyone doing the right thing, has never worked worse than in this pandemic. 

I read that a local school system is accepting handwritten notes from parents as proof of their child's negative covid test. Oh, that's going to go over really well. Can you imagine the notes? What are people thinking?

I don't have a school-aged child any more, and I feel for parents these days—particularly parents who are also teachers. 

The decision concerning whether to keep a child safe, shouldn't be difficult. You hear "Children First" so much, but are they really? What does that even mean today? It's as if children are dispensable, and being used as guinea pigs. People are just rolling the dice and hoping their children don't get infected. When they do, they respond with shock as if the pandemic is new news, and children haven’t been affected.

Our area is recovering from a snowstorm. The storm caused the postponement of covid testing, yet there seems to be such urgency to get un-vaccinated children crammed back into school buildings. Are decision makers paying attention? Are they just over the pandemic? Where are THEIR children? Do they have any— or nieces, nephews, or little cousins? Does the well-being of teachers matter? Can anyone blame teachers for resigning or retiring? 

By now, a world-class virtual learning model could have been established. Making sure that wifi was widely available should have been a priority. With the internet and PBS programming alone, today's students should be geniuses.

 What did decision-makers think was going to happen when schools opened? Teachers are being made to choose between their careers and their health. We're seeing just how valuable teachers really are. Many are finding that they are considered mere babysitters who should be eager to sacrifice themselves. Parents are actually angry that teachers are finally considering whether or not the profession is worth the disrespect.

I don't know what it's going to take for many people to take the coronavirus and her band of sorority sisters seriously, to value people over profits, and stop politicizing an airborne virus.