VENT- I don't want my building to reopen! Public school

amother

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 1:45 pm

Based on Cuomo's announcement today, it looks like my (high) school building will reopen on Monday (we are in an orange zone, not a frum neighborhood).

I really don't want it to reopen. Sad

Before all of you with your kids at home jump all over me, please realize that this is a VENT. I fully understand your plight and hope that the frum schools reopen asap. (I say frum because more than half of public school parents have opted for remote learning at this point.) because I am talking about my specific situation, and not saying that the schools SHOULDN'T reopen. I just wish, for my own selfish reasons, that my particular school would stay closed.

I'm looking to leave teaching. I'm in the middle of working on the necessary skills for my career change.

Remote teaching has been mostly asynchronous, meaning that I post videos and assignments on Google Classroom and then just monitor throughout the day. We only teach synchronously for about an hour or two every 3 days (so about twice a week). That means I've actually had more time to work on said skills for my career change.

I wake up at 8 instead of 6:30.

I eat breakfast with more leisure.

I actually get my kids up and dressed in the morning.

I don't need to look for parking.

I don't need to wear a mask all day and worry about a kid taking off their mask or coming too close to me.

I eat lunch at a normal time instead of teaching for hours straight with no break before I can eat (and sometimes having to eat lunch when I come home).

And I don't need to deal with all the political propaganda that is shoved in my face 24/7 at work.

It's been such a mechaya. I don't want to go back!

Edited to add: I truly believe that the frum schools should be open, since they are actually teaching the students in school. Same goes for public elementary schools. I'm not sure about middle schools; the jury is out. But high schools? The cost of going in is not worth the benefit, IMO, not for teachers or students. And if my life is easier when we're home, then no, I don't want to go back.

amother

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 1:51 pm

amother [ Pumpkin ] wrote:

Wow.

Talk about selfish teachers from who don't give a hoot about their students...

This one really takes the cake.

Ummmmmm....

Did you READ my disclaimer?????????

More than 60% of our students are remote anyway.

Our kids take off their masks.

We're babysitting kids in school - literally. They are doing remote work in school.

We see the kids once every three days.

There is literally zero benefit for kids to come into the building.

These are high school students whose parents aren't babysitting them.

amother

Bisque

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 1:51 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Based on Cuomo's announcement today, it looks like my (high) school building will reopen on Monday (we are in an orange zone, not a frum neighborhood).

I really don't want it to reopen. Sad

That makes sense, of course you aren’t running back. It’s funny though because a lot of teachers have been insisting teaching on zoom is way harder and they wish to go back to the classroom and I didn’t really believe them.

amother

Bisque

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 1:52 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Their mental health?

Socialization?

Most don’t learn well being self-directed.

amother

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 1:53 pm

amother [ Bisque ] wrote:

A relative of mine is a service provider in the DOE, and this has been her experience. Working remotely with younger kids or kids with disabilities, all day, is BRUTAL. I feel for the elementary school teachers and the District 75 teachers.

Teaching on Zoom all day is much harder. As I said, I only teach live for about an hour or two once every three days. That means I'm actually doing less work. When I'm at work, I need to keep track of two groups of kids separately - those who are in the building AND those who are remote. It's a LOT more work.

amother

Pumpkin

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 1:55 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I'm sorry.

I have two sisters who teach in the public school system. They are always talking about how little the Teachers Union cares about children in public school so I jumped the gun.

I apologize once again and ask forgiveness

amother

Smokey

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 1:55 pm

Wow I am teaching virtually but just about completely through synchronous instruction. Students do get asynchronous assignments but that's just to keep them busy while I meet with small groups. Other than my lunch break, I sit at my computer straight through, with a 5 minute break to refresh my tabs for the next lesson, lol. One afternoon a week it is completely asynchronous while we do PD all afternoon (today, lol. I look forward to Wednesday's no matter how boring our training is, cause I get a bit of a breather!)
I do like not having to deal with a commute, though.
So interesting how it varies.

amother

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 1:57 pm

amother [ Bisque ] wrote:

Their mental health?

Socialization?

Most don’t learn well being self-directed.

They have not been able to socialize at all, since they need to wear masks and social distance THE ENTIRE DAY. We don't even have a lunch period - my school moved lunch to the end of the day so the kids can grab 'n go.

Actually, a lot of kids switched to remote after the first day of coming into school. It wasn't what they expected. The masks are really hard to deal with. The rooms are stuffy (no AC because it can circulate the virus due to poor ventilation). Everyone is on edge. It was hurting their mental health. Many teachers feel the same way. It's tense and not a good classroom atmosphere.

If over 60% of them are self-directed of their own choice (as they opted to go fully remote), and the kids who are coming in are actually the ones who DO learn well when self-directed, then of what benefit is it?

I should add in that my school is forcing teachers to keep track of both the kids in the building and the remote kids at the same time, illegally, so we're doing double the amount of work in the building.

amother

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 1:58 pm

amother [ Pumpkin ] wrote:

Thank you. I appreciate it.

And I agree with your sisters. The teachers' union doesn't care about students at all. But that doesn't mean that the teachers themselves don't care. I've been on all the meetings. What I hear is teachers doing their best but being given unreasonable expectations. That's really what happened with us in the building.

amother

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 2:00 pm

amother [ Smokey ] wrote:

Yes, if I was teaching synchronously the entire day, I would go nuts. I see my relative doing that. It's insane.

Then again, at work, I run from one period to the next with no break because the lunch period was cut out. That's even more draining.

amother

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 2:03 pm

Geulanow wrote:

Why should teachers in a public school be able to shove political propaganda at work? People can't mention G-d in public schools or pray so why is this ok, l'havdil? The public religion has become politics and political agendas.

I didn't want to get specific about this because I don't want this thread to get political.

Suffice it to say that my co-teacher and other teachers are nonstop talking politics. Additionally, my school is founded on a certain educational agenda - so imagine how history class is taught, for example.

amother

Wine

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 2:03 pm

I know what you mean. I'm on mat leave now and I'm afraid to go back. I keep seeing pics of my coworkers on Facebook hanging out at wineries and stuff with their arms around each other and no masks. It makes me really scared, especially since numbers are really going up in my area. My school has a lot more live teaching and it's already really hard work, but the hybrid model is even more--simultaneously teaching live students in class and at home with an audience of critical parents watching. I love teaching and I work very hard at it, but I do not think I will feel safe in a classroom with windows that only open 45 degrees.

amother

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 2:10 pm

amother [ Wine ] wrote:

Yes, exactly.

Also, I don't understand how the orange zone became a yellow zone when the positivity rate is still high in my area (Sheepshead Bay).

If you're in the DOE, you know that forcing you to livestream (or generally do both in person and remote) is illegal, right?

Our windows also open 45 degrees. When I was in the building, the principal was playing games with the max number of kids allowed in the classroom. I told them I refuse to teach in a room that has a higher number (of bodies, including teachers) than the max.

amother

Wed, Oct 21 2020, 2:14 pm

amother [ Teal ] wrote:

OP I am in the same boat. I am an OT in public school in the Midwest and have been loving remote teaching. For many of the reasons you mentioned. Yeah, it is not ideal for the kids who have multiple disabilities. (However, these kids are actually in person in my district). I am not looking forward to going back in person!

You like it as an OT? Aren't you doing teletherapy all day?