Thread by @teachbk

Educators are dealing with immense pressure to go back to normal. But 2 little things keep getting in the way:

1) Normal wasn't really working.
2) We can't.

We learned a lot about ourselves as educators in the past 20 months. We also got a lot of good insights about the educational system & the way it continues to operate independent of the humans involved.

We realize that normal is not good and yet we know what ever *this* (gestures educationally) is, is also very not good.
We recognize that as much as we want to make it all happen again, we are at capacity. We've been here for so long, we don't even know how to breathe anymore.

Our bosses & our bosses' bosses urge us to 'get help' so we can continue to work. We've gotten so good at working that they give us more & more tasks, but no extra time, no support, & often, no extra pay to do them. And we, without time for more work, let alone self-care, do it.

This year, every teacher is Sisyphus, pushing that stone up that impossible hill.

Some teachers, in survival mode, not knowing any other way, have burrowed into the comfort of what we used to do. This is a legitimate response to an unfamiliar situation. But it's not helping. They're just as overwhelmed as everyone else.

Others, not finding a workable solution, have made the heartwrenching decision to walk away. Our profession is suffering from the tremendous losses of these dedicated teachers.

And for those who stay? @cultofpedagogy wrote this last week: "The alternative is simply saying no. It’s subversion. Conscientious objection. Passive resistance." And many of us are doing just that, in many small but meaningful ways. cultofpedagogy.com/barely-hanging…

In resisting, we set boundaries. We turn down opportunities, we refuse to take work home. We teach what's needed instead of what's expected. We push back in meetings and in emails. It's not always successful. Sometimes we make it worse.

The truth is that we're in unchartered waters and we need to reckon with that. If we can't go back, and we can't stay here.... well.... there's only one other option.
And as Dr. Love says, we want to do more than survive.

When I say independent, I mean independent of our needs. (Obviously it runs via our labor)

Footnote: there is no easy solution to hard problems.
If educators are going to find a way forward; a way that works for ALL learners (it IS possible— don’t @me) we will do it in a thousand different ways at a million different moments.
It’s a process, not an event.