On Teachers Returning To School

This past weekend I heard a family member say, “I don’t see why teachers are any different from anyone else who has to go back to work in person.”

I was tempted to bite my tongue and keep the peace, but I’ve talked to too many teachers and have spent too much time with my own kindergartner to not respond by saying, “Because who else has customers that lick everything in sight?”

And you know exactly what I’m talking about, right? The classroom is a place where magic can happen, but it’s also a place where kids store boogers under desks and cough unabated. Whether a kindergarten classroom with the same 30 kids in a room every day or a high school teacher with 180 different students throughout the day, it seems pretty obvious why many teachers are apprehensive about returning to the classroom at this exact moment. 

But the news, politicians, and that dude from middle school who loves to share his opinion on Facebook are making it sound like this situation is cut-and-dry. You either go back to in-person classrooms or you’re a coward.

This situation is way too complicated to boil it all down by saying that teachers are ‘cowards’ or that they’re ‘being lazy.’ 

This is what I talk about in my new video. It’s not me sharing my views on what I think schools should do during this difficult season. That is way above my paygrade and I think that needs to be left up to local districts using the input of health professionals, parents, AND TEACHERS. What I do want to point out is the complexity of this situation and the need for discussion instead of yelling. 

Take a few minutes and watch the video above, and if this message is something that resonates with you, please feel free to share with anyone else who needs to hear it. 

If you are a teacher who is now teaching virtually, check out my new online course: How to Thrive as a Virtual Teacher