A Teacher's Opinion on School Reopening: "But What Do I Know? I'm Just a Teacher"
“Everyone has an opinion about how and if schools should reopen for this coming school year. We’ve heard from the governors, the pediatricians, the parents, the education secretary, and the president. Everyone has a ‘study’ and ‘research’ to back up their claims, but unfortunately (as always with decisions made in education) they do not have one very important thing- experience in a classroom: in classrooms filled to max capacity with five-year old children who don’t even know how to blow their own noses; where the teacher: student ratio is 1:28 or in some cases even higher; classrooms where the teachers are already begging parents for tissues, hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes, even in a pre-Covid-19 world.
“Classrooms and hallways and bathrooms filled with teen-agers who think they are invincible. School buildings with no extra rooms, without central air, where there are 4 sinks for over 200 students to use.
“As a teacher, I do have this experience, so I have many questions about how it will be possible and safe for schools to reopen. Nobody asked me, but since many other professions are giving their opinions about reopening, I thought maybe, just maybe, (it’s a little crazy but hear me out) we should hear from a teacher.
“Let’s discuss hand washing. If an average class size of kindergartners is 25, then it would take 8.3 minutes for each of them to wash their hands for 20 seconds. Not too bad you might think? That’s doable. Let’s reopen! Unfortunately, that does not account for transition time between students at the sink, the student who plays in the bubbles, or splashes CONTINUE READING: glen brown: A Teacher's Opinion on School Reopening: "But What Do I Know? I'm Just a Teacher"