Advice to parents for the coming school year

With a month to go before most schools open their doors to students again, our country is facing uncertainty once again. Thanks to low vaccination rates in many parts of our country, as well as the emergence of the Delta variant, we are not out of the pandemic woods yet.

I’m not sure what protocols will be in place when we return to the classroom, but as a teacher of 23 years who will soon be occupying a room with two dozen unvaccinated human beings, and as the husband of a wife who already contracted COVID-19 last year while teaching, I would like to offer all parents the following bit of presumptuous advice:

If you think something needs to be made safer for your child in the coming year, by all means raise the issue with administration.

Don’t be a jerk about it, of course. Be open minded, polite, and collaborative. But yes, by all means, let your administrators know your concerns.

If, on the other hand, you think your child’s school is being overprotective, please keep that to yourself.

You have absolutely no idea what kind of medical conditions exist amongst the staff and students in your child’s school. You simply don’t know what you don’t know.

Also, when in the midst of a global pandemic that is still killing hundreds of Americans every day and setting record numbers of infections in certain states, it’s far better to be safe than sorry.

Yes, it would be fantastic if we could start the year without masks.

Yes, it would be excellent if students could mix with the members of other classes more freely this year.

Yes, the return of field trips, assemblies, and other school gatherings would be great.

But lives are at stake. Long term health is at risk. If your school has implemented measures that you think are unnecessary, burdensome, or silly, please be a decent human being and think about all the other human beings who are also congregating in that building. Think about their safety, their well being, their possible medical profiles, and the people who share a home with them.

I can tell you this:

My students appreciated the safety measures in place last year. They wore their masks without complaint. During our many outdoor, socially distant  mask breaks, many kept their mask on because, not surprising, if you’re a reasonable human being who is capable of thinking beyond your own needs, a mask is not a big deal.

Sickness is a big deal. Long term illness is a big deal. Death is a very big deal.

Last year was one of the best of my long teaching career. Despite the masks, the social distancing, and the loss of so many traditions that were no longer feasible because of the pandemic, my class and I had a glorious year together. It was made great by my students, who understood the value of pulling on the same rope, finding joy in smaller spaces, caring deeply for others, feeling gratitude for our time together, and not allowing the problems of the world to steal away from our learning and fun.

All of this joy despite wearing masks, socially distanced, and isolated in our bubble from the rest of the school.

If this is needed again in order to remain healthy and safe, we can do it again.

So please, if you don’t think your child’s school is taking safety seriously enough, say something. By all means speak up. You have every right to ensure that your child is safe at school.

But if you find the school’s pandemic protocols onerous or unnecessary, please bite your tongue. Keep your outrage at home. Channel your energies to more productive pursuits. Be less selfish.

“Better safe than sorry” is how we should all be thinking when a virus still threatens the lives of so many and the health of children and my colleagues  are at stake.