glen brown: A Teacher's Letter: “Our students are not problems” by Kirstin Roberts

glen brown: A Teacher's Letter: “Our students are not problems” by Kirstin Roberts

A Teacher's Letter: “Our students are not problems” by Kirstin Roberts

“I've been struggling to put into words my thoughts about CPS re-opening plans: Terrifying, Nope, and Heartbroken are definitely up there. Then, reading about the police violence carried out on young people at the demonstrations last evening in Chicago--a 16 year old young Black woman had her teeth knocked by club-wielding cops--it really crystalized my feelings on this issue.

“They see our students, and by extension their educators, as a problem to be handled, apparently by any means necessary. Including with clubs and tear gas. Including knowingly exposing them to a deadly virus in the middle of global pandemic.

“I'm clear after hearing CPS scenarios of 7-hour school days, socially distanced from peers, masked, assigned seats, never moving from classroom except for terrifying field trips to the bathroom (that far too often have no soap and no hot water), that this has nothing to do with humane opportunities for learning and interaction and has everything to do with warehousing children while their parents are forced back to work. Working CONTINUE READING: glen brown: A Teacher's Letter: “Our students are not problems” by Kirstin Roberts