The world is slowly returning back to normal, more places are staying open late such as restaurants and even the local target has adjusted their hours back. When it comes to opening schools it is a heated debate on both sides. Teachers want to be protected while teaching even while still being underpaid and usually providing resources for their students. More recently state governments and even the President are leading the charge to get students back in schools as soon as possible.
Currently, a family member of mine is a teacher about to return to the classroom in the next coming week. Due to the threat of teachers coming back to school I will keep my source anonymous and give a summary of the things we talked about while writing this article. Some of her main concerns were getting vaccinated before going back to the classroom, bringing covid home to her family after a day of work and stocking enough personal protective equipment for herself and students
With these types of concerns in mind, the idea of her teacher’s union pops up as a way to alleviate some of these issues. She also told me that her union has answered some of her concerns. As for vaccination, they are trying their best to get everyone vaccinated by the start date however there are no promises. In a mass teacher union meeting, they explained the type of environment they are supposed to have at school now. For example, since she works in an older building, all windows in the room must remain open at all times. What concerns my family member is the union asked if the state could delay going back til next year. However, the state said that they would pull funding from public schools. Of course, schools should be open eventually however by rushing the process many people may end up with covid rather than an education.