Schools in the Time of Covid

All the talk about
mandatory openings
of k-to-12 schools

boils my blood. I
cannot speak for everyone,
nor would I ever

try, but I can speak
for myself. I can speak from
the experience

of someone who taught
for 30 years in poorly
ventilated, old

buildings. I can speak
as a teacher who was sick,
more than I was well,

throughout my teaching
career. Did that stop me? No.
I did what I could

to be there doing
what I loved: working with kids,
seeing those light bulbs

go off when they had
good ideas or they learned
difficult concepts.

I’d be there coming
up with new ways to teach, what
could be boring stuff,

in ways that might just
excite and engage students.
I’d be there to work

with teachers to be
sure their voices were heard and
their rights upheld as