Since the beginning of June, the Trump administration has been putting pressure on governors to reopen schools this fall, despite the recent and worrisome spike in coronavirus cases throughout the country.
But one woman has spoken up to share what she predicts will happen if those schools open their doors to students again, painting a morbid picture of transmission, infection, and death sparing neither parent, nor teacher, nor student.
Cultural analyst Melissa Hillman began her thread of predictions on Twitter in response to a Tweet about Vice President Mike Pence’s push for schools to reopen.
Hillman said the first thing we can expect to see happen when schools resume classes in the fall is the teacher shortage worsen as a result of reluctant teachers avoiding the threat of the virus.
This, Hillman argued, is because schools simply aren’t prepared to handle the social distancing requirements that will be put in place if/when students return.
Not only is the funding not there, but teachers will also be unable to ensure their classrooms are kept properly sterilized, not to mention keep themselves safe with PPE that surely won’t be provided.
“This will all be blamed on teachers for being ‘bad’ or ‘failing’,” Hillman predicted.
Of course, this will ultimately lead to teachers walking out of their classes and right out the front doors of those reopened schools.
“Trust me, teachers are already looking for an exit,” Hillman shared. “The shortage will get worse. You think you can’t fine STEAM teachers now ?”
“Hahaha,” she wrote. “Just you wait.”
Next will come the infections, and lots of them, with serious, even *deadly* consequences.
Hillman said it will most likely be a teacher who contracts the virus first, given that they interact with “100+ [students] a day”. Once that happens, schools will go into lockdown at a sudden notice without Zoom classes or teaching plans in place.
With the virus now most certainly spreading among students as well as teachers, “parents [and teachers] will die, children will get sick & grow up believing they were the case of those deaths [because] they brought the virus home.”
Hillman goes on to accuse the government of disregarding the pandemic in favor of attempting to “jump start the economy.”
“But the sudden reversal back to online ed due to widespread illness & death is a certainty,” she wrote. “They’re just hoping it happens after the election.”
Despite their hope for economic renewal, Hillman says the economy will simply suffer again as the virus surges, forcing businesses to close once again.
Victim-blaming will see the finger pointed at teachers for mass infections and deaths, which is most definitely not fair.
Although everyone misses the experience of in-class learning, Hillman said socially distanced classrooms will not be the solution people may expect it to be.
“You think your kid is ‘sad’ [because] they can’t play w their friends?” she wrote. “Imagine how they’ll feel when they’re w/in six feet of their friends & not allowed any closer. Not allowed any hugs. Physically alone all day.”
Hillman’s thread of predictions caught the attention of many educators who spoke up to say the analyst is definitely spot-on.
“I accepted the fact that I might have to dive in front of a mad man with a gun but now they’re making us walk the plank,” this teacher commented. “Not doing it.”
Another added, “I’m not going back. Early retirement. Less money but I’ll be alive!”
Some relatives of teachers shared that they’re actively trying to convince their loved ones to refuse returning to the classroom while it’s unsafe to do so.
This woman shared that her own daughter teaches kindergarten and is “stressed out” about the concept of returning to the classroom. But her mom is encouraging her to quit and work part time instead.
“It’s doable until this virus is contained which won’t be while [Trump] is in office,” she wrote.
But the sad reality is how many people feel like it’s just not possible for them to quit or retire right now.
Many people who commented shared that the money they would lose from retiring now is not something they could possibly face, and so they feel they have no choice but to return to the classroom.
“I was just checking how much retirement I would lose if I retire now,” one teacher shared. “This sucks. Everyone wants to return to school, but the reality is that we prioritized bars, restaurants, and gyms.”
As frustrating and heartbreaking a situation as these teachers are in, many are calling for everyone to band together and speak up as one unified voice.
“If all teachers refuse to go back they can’t open schools and they cant fire everyone,” this person said. “Organized strikes do work.”
Another added, “What we need is a nationwide teacher strike until it is safe to go back. We can teach your children on-line at home or not at all.”
