Parents and Teachers Are In This Together
We can't let them pit us against each other over school openings
Parents and teachers are being pitted against each other in the debate over school reopenings. The media has focused on the desperate situation facing many parents as they are being asked to return to work. As a mother, I know how hard it has been for parents for the last 4 months—and the prospects of several more months (or longer) of this is panic-inducing.
Meanwhile, teachers feel justifiably terrified, angry and betrayed that their lives are being treated as disposable. Everyone talks about how kids don’t get as sick from the virus while ignoring the risks to the adults who work in schools.
But as I explained in a piece this week, parents and teachers—as well as the broader society—share an interest in schools being reopened safely and equitably. But it’s also becoming clear that it is not safe to open schools in 4-8 weeks and that our governments are not prioritizing the measures that we would need to get to this point. As I wrote in that article:
“In order to fight for our lives to be prioritized over profits, parents and teachers need to recognize that we are being put in impossible positions by those with all of the money, resources and power. Our specific needs and individual breaking points may be different, but we are all in this together.”
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