密歇根新闻广播 K-12教师担心学校重开

 

K-12 teachers fearful about school reopening - especially if it's in-person instruction

In just six to eight weeks, Michigan’s K - 12 students will be returning to school for the fall semester.

Most districts appear to be planning for at least a limited number of days of in-person teaching.

But cases of COVID-19 are increasing in the state, and teachers are anxious about the risks for them, their students and their own families.

Some teachers say feeling this unsafe could be a deal breaker for going back.

Vicki Green teaches AP English classes at Cass Tech High School in Detroit.

Detroit is the epicenter of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Michigan.

An overwhelming majority of the more than 1,400 Detroiters who’ve died from COVID-19 were Black.

Green says it would be foolish not to be worried about going back to in-person teaching.

"This is hard. Let me say that to you first. This is very difficult," she says. "I love teaching, I’ve been teaching for 22 years."

Green doesn’t want to teach online again. It’s a poor substitute for what happens in a real classroom. Nor does she want to miss another graduation ceremony.

“That was quite sad, at the end of March (when school suddenly shut down). I had no idea that Wednesday that I saw my kids the last time, would be the last time."

Green says she’ll go back – if her union gives the green light. If not, that’s her deal breaker.

“I’m not going to rebel," says Green. "But I am a union person. And if our union’s recommendation is that we protest strike based on the fact that they don’t believe the administration, the people in charge, are making the best decisions – I’m with that too.”

Behind the scenes, some groups involved in giving feedback on return to school plans say the state’s guidelines need strengthening. They want more “required,” actions, like physical distancing of students, instead of just “strongly recommended, or recommended” actions.

But stricter rules may not be enough for some teachers.

While they’re more than aware, from first-hand experience ,that many students suffer emotionally, socially and academically without traditional schooling¹, they're also worried that they could be asked to risk their lives for that traditional schooling experience.

Jessica Rodriguez teaches second graders at Wines Elementary in Ann Arbor². "It's keeping me up at night," she says.

Rodriguez says she and her husband are spending a lot of time discussing, "what if--" what if she has to quit?

"The Catch 22 is, I’m feeling very much like it’s not safe to return at all, especially with Michigan numbers increasing and numbers skyrocketing in our country. But I keep our benefits. I keep our health insurance. And without my income there’s just no way for us to survive," says Rodriguez.

School districts are so far not talking openly about offering online-only instruction.

What could happen is conjecture³ at this point. Governor Gretchen Whitmer warned recently the state is moving in the wrong direction with cases. Online school for all could still happen.

“If we’re going to get our kids back in school in eight weeks, we’ve got to stay at least in Phase 4, if not move into Phase 5," Whitmer said during a recent press conference. "And the trajectory⁴ we’re on, it’s very much in question.”

This game of wait and see is causing a huge amount of stress for teachers, who usually spend part of their summers preparing curriculum for the fall. But they can’t do that until their district unveils a plan.

Courtney Kiley, a teacher at Community High School in Ann Arbor, says she’s trying to prepare herself for what she dreads⁵ the most, trying to teach her students over a Zoom⁶ screen, while her own kids are being taught the same way.

“How am I supposed to be the best teacher and mom? I mean, if I had to go back to the feeling that I had, like March through June, feeling like less than mediocre⁷ at everything I was trying to do – I don’t want to live another year feeling like that. But maybe I will. We’ll see.”

School districts must submit their return to school plans to the state by August 15. That’s only a little more than a month from now. And if there’s anything the novel coronavirus has taught us – a lot can happen in that period of time – good and bad.

1 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

2 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

3 conjecture   

n./v.推测，猜测

参考例句：

• She felt it no use to conjecture his motives.她觉得猜想他的动机是没有用的。
• This conjecture is not supported by any real evidence.这种推测未被任何确切的证据所证实。

4 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

5 dreads   

n.恐惧，畏惧( dread的名词复数 )；令人恐惧的事物v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The little boy dreads going to bed in the dark. 这孩子不敢在黑暗中睡觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A burnt child dreads the fire. [谚]烧伤过的孩子怕火（惊弓之鸟，格外胆小）。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

7 mediocre   

adj.平常的，普通的

参考例句：

• The student tried hard,but his work is mediocre. 该生学习刻苦，但学业平庸。
• Only lazybones and mediocre persons could hanker after the days of messing together.只有懒汉庸才才会留恋那大锅饭的年代。