Teachers: Older teachers may not return to school for a while - The Washington Post

Teachers: Older teachers may not return to school for a while - The Washington Post

Trump: Teachers over age 60 may ‘have to sit it out for a while’ when schools reopen, but students should be ‘in great shape’

President Trump was asked by a student during his Sunday virtual town hall with Fox News anchors at the Lincoln Memorial about how she could feel safe going back to school during a second wave of covid-19. He told her he thought she would be “in great shape” but that “a bigger problem” was older teachers being in their classrooms.

Trump answered questions from Fox’s Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum as well as from Americans about his government’s response to the covid-19 pandemic and other issues.

Responding to Rebekah Johnson from Minneapolis, in light of experts warning that covid-19 is not going away, he said schools need to reopen and that students would be fine, although they “may wear masks for a while.”

He also said teachers who are 60 or 65 may have to stay home when schools open. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those at high risk for severe illness from covid-19 are people 65 years and older, and people of any age with specific underlying medical conditions, including those with chronic lung disease, moderate to severe asthma and diabetes.

The percentage of America’s teachers who are 60 and older is not precisely known. The latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics says that in 2012 about 23 percent of America’s teachers were between the ages of 50 to 59 in 2012 and more than 7 percent were over 60. But since then, many teachers have left the profession, and others have joined.

There are teacher shortages in most school districts around the country, which would probably be exacerbated if older teachers don’t return to schools when they reopen.

Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access.

Trump said in answer to Rebecca::

So when you go back — and you have one problem that is a bigger problem, and that’s teachers over 60 or 65 years old — the teachers. Because I think that Kristin [another student] or Rebecca are going to be in great shape, and they may wear masks for a while and they may be separated further than what they’re used to. And I think they’re going to be in great shape.

He was also asked by an educator why he uses “bullying words” when he speaks. CONTINUE READING: Teachers: Older teachers may not return to school for a while - The Washington Post