Once Again, Teachers are Expected to Teach as Well as Protect Our Kids

As Trump pushes for schools to reopen and his Secretary of Education says that reopening schools is not a danger to kids we are left with the memory of other time when teachers were asked to be the protector of our kids as well as their educators, among other things.

Trump once again does not take into the gravity of the situation and is only thinking of his own personal gains and politics like he has done throughout this entire pandemic and quite frankly, like he has done throughout his time as president from the start.

This is not a new situation for our brave and heroic teachers, they have been here before. In fact, there have been many times over the years when teachers have been given the responsibility of being the protector of school children and expected to take on many roles other than what they are paid to do, which is to educate our children and this is once again, one of those times.

Educators Acting as Armed Guards

You remember that, don’t you?

Every time that we have a school shooting, we have the conversation in the country about teachers carrying guns to protect our children and every time, teachers say how they do not want to take on this role.

Even before the Trump years came into play, there were many including the National Rifle Association who demanded that teachers be armed with guns to “protect” students from active shooter situations, but this has been a thing discussed especially during the current administration, especially after the Valentine’s Day shooting in Parkland, Florida in 2018.

Trump came out and called for schools to arm teachers as a solution and teachers did not like this prospect.

Our educators want to educate, not act as security guards or members of law enforcement and this is exactly what they are asked to be during these type of situations.

These teachers are expected to teach as well as be a body shield against a madman with a gun when these tragedies take place and if Trump got his way, they would be asked to take out a firearm and act like a SWAT team member and take down the shooter. These teachers did not sign up to do this type of job during these events and should not be asked to teach and play the role of armed security too.

This is just one of many situations where our educators are expected to protect our children from dangerous situations. They are not paid enough for this type or work and should never be expected to jump into an active shooter situation and be the hero and take down the threat who is shooting students, that is not their place.

The Referee in the Ring

Another dangerous situation where our teachers are thrown into where they are told to take on a role of security is to break up fights and play the referee in the ring known as the cafeteria and school playground.

Teachers should not have to get involved in these instances, but they do time and time again.

This happens when teachers see a fight and must intervene as school districts refuse to hire actual security guards to protect students from fights, as well as the previously mentioned school shootings. This situation is less dangerous than an active shooter type of instance, but as we have seen, can evolve into a threat like that and can evolve quickly.

Our brave teachers put up with a lot during the course of their school day and this is one of those things. They are expected to do so many different jobs all rolled up into one and it is unfair to expect this of them when their job is a simple one.

Their job is to teach our kids. It is not to play the role of a referee in a fight, just like it is not their job to play security guard, or anything else. Their job is to teach and educate students so that they can be prepared for the future and to go out into the world.

Being the ref at lunchtime when a fight breaks out should never be the duty of these teachers.

The Missing Parent

Teachers are often expected to be the parent that is missing from the home during the school day.

They do this because they care for children, but they should never be expected to play this role. They are there for the purpose of teaching the kids and that is when their job should stop and their duties should cease, but in many cases they are expected to take this on like they take on other duties like the others mentioned.

Many of these kids in the classrooms of America have a missing father or mother or both in their homes and they need that added support, but these teachers should not have to step in and do that when they have so much to do in teaching these children in the classroom.

Teachers do it all and get paid very little. I know that they do not do it for the cash and prizes, but they should not be pushed into more roles than what they signed on for.

The teachers of America are very compassionate to not complain and take on the role of parent, just as they take on the other roles mentioned in this piece and so many more. They care deeply for these school children and are willing to do whatever they can to make their lives better, even if it means taking on more than they can handle.

On the Front Lines of a Global Pandemic

Teachers are literally risking their lives once schools reopen, just like when they risk their lives during a school shooting to protect these children and make sure that they get home safely to their families. This is once again a situation that teachers should not have to place themselves in, yet they are being asked just that.

Just like first responders, essential workers in grocery stores, nurses and doctors and many others on the front lines of this pandemic, teachers are heroes as well and should be treated as such.

Teachers are heroes and get very little recognition for the situations that they put themselves in, but they should.

However, they should not have to choose their jobs over their lives and their health. These teachers should be able to teach and do the job that they love in a safe and sanitary environment and going back to school as cases are rising and this virus is out of control is not safe or sanitary.

Schools should remain closed until it is completely safe to reopen and in quite a number of states, that is what is happening, but in others they are reopening and this puts teachers and students in danger and creates a dangerous and a chaotic situation for all.

States like California (in most countries) and others are starting off the school year safely by having distanced learning via the internet and this puts the safety and well-being of educators and students alike above all else, but there are other states that plan to reopen on schedule, even as cases of the virus are rising and people are dying and this is irresponsible to say the least.

Florida is one of those states that is impatiently reopening schools and they are the epicenter of this virus with thousands of positive cases a day and now has record deaths to go with it. It is easy to understand why they have chosen to reopen even with a horrible health situation for their citizens because they have a pro-Trump and anti-science governor who either does not get it, or does not care.

Teachers are the ones risking their lives with these reopenings, not the governors of these states or the President of the United States. It is the teachers who will be putting their lives on the line when these schools go back in session and do so for pennies and this should not be something that we are okay with.

Asking Our Teachers to do the Impossible

We are asking a lot of our teachers. We are asking too much of them.

We expect these heroes to risk everything for these children and for the schools that they work for and that is an unfair thing to ask of them and it is something that they should not have to do when they have families and kids of their own that they want to be there for.

Trump is pushing schools to reopen when the virus is out of control in this country and so many are dying.

Let that sink in for a moment. The man who is supposed to be taking care of the American people and making sure that they have a healthy and safe work environment and that children have a safe learning environment, is doing the exact opposite and just so he has his own agenda met.

I find that appalling. I believe that the leaders of our country should always put the health and safety of our people first and when it comes to learning and our teachers, we should give them the tools that they need to succeed and one of those things is a healthy work place, especially during a global pandemic like the one we have now.

We should never ask teachers to take such a risk as we are asking them to take during this public health crisis — that is asking the impossible.

The Right Thing is Sometimes the Hard Thing

Sometimes the right thing is the hardest thing to do for us and this is one of those situations.

The right thing to do is to keep kids out of school and keep the schools closed for in-person learning. I say that this is a tough thing to do because I fully see the reality that kids need to be in school and have that structure that a live classroom provides.

It is important for kids to be in a real classroom and it is a difficult thing when they cannot be, I fully get that.

I say that this is the right thing to do because I have seen the damage and the horror of this virus in others and on a personal level and I want to protect others from this happening to them. I want people to be healthy and live their best lives and having this virus does not allow for that.

Now is not the time to have in-person schooling. Now is the time for us to make this hard but correct choice of keeping the schools closed despite what Donald Trump and Republican governors want to do. The needs of the ones educating our children matter most as does the health of both teachers and students in the schools of this country.

The teachers of this country should not be asked to protect our children from a deadly pandemic and play mask police and make sure that these children practice social distancing and so on. They have enough on their plate with teaching them and all that goes with that, they should be able to focus on that and distanced learning gives them that freedom.

The time to reopen our schools for in-person classes will come, but now is not that time.

Our teachers do a lot, but asking them to take this on too is too much and their health should be our priority. They give us so much, let us return the favor by protecting them from this virus and keeping classes online and not reopen these education institutions at this time.