There is something I need to get off my chest. A few days ago, @fordnation said that comparing the hiring of OPP officers to funding a safe school reopening is like comparing apples and oranges.
He then went on to compare teachers returning to work to supermarket workers during the height of the pandemic. I believe he said that it is time for teachers to step up now. I think that is a little like comparing apples and oranges.
So let’s compare teachers returning to schools and supermarket workers. When I visited a supermarket back in March I had to wait outside for about 45 minutes because the local Zehr’s had a limit on the number of people allowed in the building.
When I finally got inside, it was easy to socially distance since there may have been 25 or so other people in this massive building. I did not encounter one employee in my travels up and down the bare aisles.
Upon checking out, I had to wait until the shopper ahead of me had left the register completely. Then the cashier sprayed and wiped down the entire conveyor area. By the way, the cashier was separated from me via a huge plexiglass barrier.
To enter the store, I had to be wearing a mask. The mask had to stay on the entire time I was in the store. If I bought sushi, or some other pre-prepared food, I had to eat it outside the store.
Now in under 3 weeks I will be returning to my classroom with approximately 15 kids per cohort (as I am in one of the designated boards). Even with 15 kids, my room is small enough that 2 m social distancing is impossible.
Assuming that approximately 83% of the students do return (as my board has recently stated), there will be about 800 students and close to 100 staff in the building each day (a far cry from Zehr’s in March).
I have no plexiglass to separate from the students and an HVAC system that does not fully work. Students are expected to be in my tiny room for 2.5 hours at a time. They will need to drink and snack. Masks will be removed.
So, let’s say that it is time for teachers to step up, can we at least have the same working conditions as a Zehr’s employee had in March? That’s all we have been asking for the entire time. #UnsafeSeptemberON #FireLecce
