Teachers from heroes to zeroes, by design
Never waste a crisis. Last spring, after a solid year and a half of teacher action, when they pushed back against the conditions that were strangling the profession, teachers were lauded as heroes as they switched to distance learning in a couple of days. The memes and accolades were everywhere. Fast forward to today when many teachers are protesting going back to unsafe conditions, and suddenly they are the villains of the story, lazy and unprofessional, and no offense to the clerk at Walmart, but if he can do it, so should teachers. You have to think this new narrative is a little by design.
By now I think we have all heard if the clerk at Walmart can do it, why can't teachers as if they are the same. On the other end of the spectrum, if nurses and doctors can do it, so can teachers. You know, because teaching is the same as both jobs.
It is probably a surprise to all the nasty commentators on news stories, but teachers are neither. Service workers deal with a customer or two at a time for a few minutes, often in places where social distancing can occur. Not crammed into classrooms and schools, which are already as close as you can get to Petri dishes.
Then nurses and doctors, the true heroes of the pandemic, signed up for this, that's the job they chose. Their bravery and dedication are truly admirable, and their PPE is truly impressive as well. I CONTINUE READING: Mr. G for District 3: Chris Guerrieri's Education Matters: Teachers from heroes to zeroes, by design (draft)