Parola Perspective: Blown Away By the Lack of Respect We Teachers Get. By PWP Contributor Brooks Parola.

Contributed to Purple Walrus Press By Brooks Parola.

So Salt Lake has the highest numbers of COVID-19 in the state, so their schools have already announced that in person school will be severely limited in the fall.

I teach in the Granite School District just outside the city, who’s infection rate is not as high. As a result, Granite is changing almost nothing. Yes, students and staff will be required to wear masks. Students and teachers will have to sanitize work areas and shared supplies after every class, but there no plan to social distance the kids either through limiting class sizes, or having alternating days of in-person schooling. I had 37 students in my Honors U.S. History class last year.

Now, while most of my district doesn’t have as high an infection rate as Salt Lake, the area my school is located, DOES. The teachers union (weak actually) is demanding that all teachers get N-95 masks, students be social distanced through smaller class sizes and/or alternating days, and plexiglass shields placed on desks.

While I’m not optimistic that we’ll get all of these, hopefully we’ll get some of them. But when you think about how little the district is doing to keep teachers safe, I’m once again blown away by the lack of respect we teachers get. This is a fluid situation, so hopefully we’ll get some better news in the coming days. Bare minimum: they better be supplying us with N-95’s.