Educator Tom McMahon commented:
"For decades, teachers and teachers' unions have fought for safe and clean working conditions because a teacher's working conditions are a student's learning conditions. Coronavirus has brought those discussions to the forefront. Schools must find a way to ensure student and staff safety before reopening in the fall. This is difficult given the number of students that move in and out of a given classroom each day."
Coincidentally, Teacher Appreciation Week fell around the time most school district that hadn't already closed for the year finally gave up hope of re-opening, and if there's one thing this crisis has produced is an overwhelming appreciation for teachers. The technology may not be going away, but we now see more than ever how indispensable in-person instruction has always been.
Tom McMahon explained:
"The number one thing Coronavirus has taught us is that nothing replaces a child's time in a classroom with their teacher. Both students and teachers have made the best of this unique situation, but it is not the same and as hard as everyone works, there will be needs that simply can't be met."
New York State United Teachers president, Andy Pallotta, concluded:
"If we want to reimagine education, let's start with addressing the need for social workers, mental health counselors, school nurses, enriching arts courses, advanced courses and smaller class sizes in school districts across the state. Since the schools were shut down in mid-March, our understanding of the profound deficiencies of screen-based instruction has only grown."
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