School teachers, check in. Let's just take a minute to commiserate.

[Music Man]

Last year was a breeze compared to this year. The logistical to-do list is longer than ever, monitoring masks, frequent absences with quarantines, meeting kids where they are after the past year and a half. And at least where I teach we have a new principal, new superintendent, new bell schedule, and on and on. Just a month of stress and complete mental fatigue.

Now, it's not like the year hasn't been without its rewards. I'm proud of how the kids are responding, and there are victories each day. But I've never worked this hard before, and it's like I'm putting in EVERYTHING I have just to do a perfunctory job.

How are you doing, fellow teachers? Hang in there, whoever you are. I am proud to be among your ranks

[MLAA]

1. Thank you for all you are doing! Sending you a standing ovation!

[3Hotdogs]

3. +1

[MustLoveBeagles]

2. Thank you for what you're doing

I know the last year and a half hasn't been easy.

[demtenjeep]

4. working hard

96 % of kids wear masks no problems.

4% have to keep telling them up over the nose




Spend more time teaching routines/expectations. They have forgotten how to act in the classroom



plus-full moon sheesh

[AZLD4Candidate]

5. No subs, so if a teacher is out, there goes my prep periods

No time between classes. Lunch with students in my classroom, so I am with students four straight period with no time to even use a bathroom.

More paperwork, have to "engage" the six students in class and the 15-20 online with this insane "hybird."

[GPV]

8. No sub teachers or staff here either. Ed techs who aren't one on one are subs now.

[Redleg]

6. College professor here- bravo to you teachers

You are doing some of the most important work and seem to get little appreciation for it. Please keep up the good work because our children need you.

This Fall we started back to our "normal" face-to-face classes, albeit all wearing masks, which the university mandates for indoors. I have to admit that I was really looking forward to seeing the students again after 2 1/2 semesters of online education. Most of the online courses were asynchronous because many of the students didn't want to have synchronous classes and the hassle of having to actually show up on Zoom at scheduled times. We still have quite a few students taking online courses and this causes me some concern.

So far the students are taking the mask requirement seriously and are quarantining at home when when they get ill. This requires us to accommodate them, which requires a bit of extra work, such as recording and uploading lecture videos. While many of us are back on campus, the campus seems pretty dead, like Sunday night at the morgue. Most faculty seem to be working from home on their non-teaching days and students aren't hanging out much except to grab lunch at the student union. I expect that we'll be lucky to make it through to the end of the semester without having another transition to online only courses.

I realize that you K-12 educators have it much worse than us, especially if you have to fight the parents about mask-wearing. You spend more time in your classrooms and your classroom is your office so you get little chance for privacy. I am grateful that I can keep my office door closed and take off my mask for a while.

[GPV]

7. We are less strict this year. No masks outside, 3 foot distance, can sing, play mouth instruments,

play sports. No remote teaching this year unless there’s a full class out. But I miss our half day Wednesdays from last year, and the extra period added back on at the end of the day makes it seem so much longer. We’ve had outbreaks in the building since before school started. Staff were missing from day 1. Multiple mini groups of kids are out, plus two whole classes are remote learning from quarantine.

I’m working as an Ed tech because I decided years ago that full time teaching is too much for my anxiety. So glad I made that decision!

Good luck to us all, and may we all find joy in each day.

[Hortensis]

9. My DIL teaches middle school special ed. She says she and they're

all doing pretty good considering it was discovered the teacher she replaced hadn't been teaching the assigned curriculum. Little trouble with masks. She was aggravated by what happened after the school passed out personal bottles of hand sanitizer gel shaped like oversized penises.

[Dorian Gray]

10. Thanks for doing what you do

I'm not a teacher, but I'm married to a teacher, and I tutor at an after school program. So far this year is going well. (In NYC) I prefer tutoring in person to on zoom. I find that I can engage the student I work with MUCH better. (We still offer a remote option for kids and tutors to work that way.)

My husband works in a high school, and he's found teaching this year to be slightly easier than last year. (Last year he had a hybrid of in person and remote kids every day.) So far no positive cases, but in our community in NYC, the school year just began and we are highly vaccinated.

I'm cautiously optimistic about our chances to stay in person.

My daughter is in fifth grade, and her school has been doing well. Weekly testing for the entire community and mandated vaccines for all staff.

I think the hardest part for all of us is expectation management and being flexible and nimble if we have to move back to remote. Remote is NOT idea for the children we work with in our after school program. (The majority have IEPs and have trouble concentrating with the screen.)

I am extraordinarily grateful that we require masks, staff must be vaccinated, and the organization has upgraded its facilities to make ventilation safer. I'd be a lot more anxious than I already am if we were in a different place with less mitigation.

Like I said, I'm Cautiously optimistic. Cautiously being a big part of that sentence.....