I truly don't think enough can be said about the work teachers have done over the past several months. Some teaching online *and* in person. Making lesson plans for both. Some caring for their own children and relatives while they teach. They deserve both praise and better pay.
Some folks underestimate the extent to which online teaching demands that teachers upend and revamp years of work they have put into their pedagogy. Teachers have to both learn new technology for themselves and also have to teach their students how to use these tools effectively.
And the teachers who are still going into schools, while rates are low relative to other indoor settings, are still putting themselves and their own families at risk by doing so. And in some places if these districts have decided to mandate they come in, they don't have a choice.
And even while they are burned out amid these unprecedented circumstances, so many teachers are still going above and beyond to help their students. Evening phone calls, dropping items off in person, extra zoom sessions, and making sure they have the technology in the first place
And while all of this is going on, they lose those small moments that make teaching worthwhile. The kid who comes in to say thank you during lunch, the conversations with colleagues in the teachers lounge, the moment where you look over a student's shoulder & see they understand
When I was a high school English teacher, it was the most rewarding but also the hardest work of my life. I was exhausted every single day. I cannot imagine how difficult it is for teachers right now, especially with the uncertainty of when this will end. Grateful for their work.
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