It's a teacher's job to leave a lasting impression and set a good example for their students.
With this in mind, particularly in this age of viral videos and social media, teachers have to be very careful of what they say during class hours.
Even so, there are very few teachers who haven't said something they've regretted when teaching a class.
Sometimes to control unruly students, other times when they've simply had enough.
Then too, sometimes teachers leave their students baffled and perplexed by what they say in their classroom, well aware of what they were saying.
Always making for a memorable story.
"What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever heard teacher say in class?"
And Anyone With Such Closed Minded Views Shouldn't Be Teaching...
"Had the Head of the Department in college claim in class that anyone who actually needs accommodations for mental health issues should not be in college to begin with."
"This was while we were discussing 'Death of a Salesman' and the discussion had veered over to unhealthy pressure and social standards for success."- RavensQueen502
Wait what?!
"My very well-respected Biology teacher in college spent almost an entire lecture telling us that Jamie Lee Curtis was a hermaphrodite."
"It seemed oddly personal to him."- Urbane_Cowboy
Sad On So Many Levels
"Not heard but my freshmen year high school teacher once pulled a bottle of Jack out of his desk and took a shot during class."
"He was dying so towards the end I think he just stopped caring."- Mangothefello
Can't Take The Heat, Then Stay Out Of The Classroom...
"High school science teacher told my class that a kilometre was longer than a mile."
"Refused to budge when refuted and kicked out several students for doing so."- SupersonicDebris13
"5th grade teacher: 'Mount Whitney in California is the tallest mountain in the world'."
"5th grade me blurts out: 'No it isn't, Mount Everest is."
"Whitney is not even the tallest mountain in the USA, which is Mount McKinley in Alaska'."
"I got in trouble for 'contradicting the teacher'."- gtmattz
get out GIFGiphyIt's Not Just Students Who Are Bullies...
"I had a teacher ridicule a fat kid about his lunch choices in front of the whole class."
"He ran out crying as she was making fat guy blimp gestures and telling him he was going to be huge as an adult."- SnooOwls5859
Some Dramatic License It Seems...
"I had a literature teacher who told the class that he didn't believe in dinosaurs, because the universe is only a couple thousand years old."
"The bones were put there by Satan."
"Thank f*ck he wasn't a science or history teacher."- AllBadAnswers
of montreal dancing GIF by Polyvinyl RecordsGiphyEveryone Deserves Nice Acomodations...
"My English teacher told us that he genuinely believes that the Rothchilds own a hotel for aliens in the Bermuda triangle."- TroyLear77
Well, Then...
"We had this kid in our 6th-grade class."
"Very dark skinned kid from Africa."
"His name was Tajak."
"Every now and then when we'd line up to go to another class or lunch and the lights would go out some of his friends would go 'where Tajak at?'"
"Anyway one day we had a sub and we we're lining up for lunch, the lights went out and there went the 'where Tajak at?' and the SUBSTITUTE TEACHER who was also black went 'Boy you darker than night'."
"6th grade was f*cking wild."- 11221mikew
Sad Premonitions
"Psych teacher in high school told us that 1 in 10 of the people were friends with in high school would be dead within 5 years of graduating."
"At the time I thought it was hyperbole, but it turns out he was being conservative."
"3 of the people in my high school friend group were dead by the time I was 22."- Reddit
Do They Really Need A Reason?
"'Now girls, don't you let them boys touch your breasts'."
"'It'll give you cancer'."- jondru
Maybe Should Have Checked With The Geography Teacher?
"A teacher in Elementary school claimed during history class that the Colosseum was in Greece, as an Italian kid I was very confused, this was in Mexico."- Spascucci
So Much For Instilling Hope...
"Didn't hear this personally, but read in a book about a guy who recalled his teacher skipping chapters in a textbook and saying 'You will not need to know this when you are down in the mines'."- futanari_kaisa
The mark of a good teacher is that students will take everything they hear from them with them for the rest of their lives.
Though, the less-than-wonderful teachers may also say things their students will never forget.
Ways Teachers Instantly Gained Respect From The Entire Class According To Students
All of us were positively impacted by a teacher in one way or another.
Even those of us who hated school still have one teacher who continues to influence our life decades after graduation.
In some cases, this influence is a very personal one, as this particular teacher may have given us some extra attention, and went to great lengths to make sure we were reaching our full potential.
Then there are the teachers whose name brings a smile to the face of all who ever knew them.
The sort of teacher who made people excited to get to class, and who so seamlessly gained the respect of their students, that they wanted them not just to be their teacher, but to be their friend.
Not by doing anything remarkable, but simply by being themselves.
"What did a teacher do that made you automatically gain respect for them?"
Words Of Affirmation
"I went to a small charter school for middle school."
"Our English/literature teacher was brand new to teaching."
"If I remember correctly she was only 22 which seemed old at the time."
"She always did her best to be so cheerful and make learning fun."
"But the thing that truly solidified her spot as my favorite teacher was that for every student’s birthday she would give you a personalized mini notebook."
"It was just a simple small composition notebook but she had filled the first couple pages telling me how much she loved having me as a student, how far she knew I would go, and other affirmations."
"It seems small but as a 13 year old who had a crappy home life it made all the difference in how I acted the rest of the year."- Voiceisaweapon
Studying University Of Colorado GIF by CU OnlineGiphyTeaching Is A Calling
"I had a teacher in elementary school who was prone to outbursts."
"He had a short fuse, at least compared to every other adult I knew at the time."
"For instance, when several of us in class weren't listening he'd throw a piece of chalk against the wall to get our attention."
"Honestly, we just thought he was crazy."
"A year or maybe two years later, the school had a talent show."
"Like a big one, in the gym, in front of everyone."
"One my classmates was really into music and wanted to play a drum solo."
"Our teacher had mentioned off-hand that he used to be in a band and played drums, so my classmate asked him, sort of dared, like kids often do with adults, to play a solo in front of the school."
"And he did."
"He f*cking rocked it."
"But that's not what made me respect him."
"Turns out the band he played for was a very successful, and at the time quite popular rock band."
"He left just before they became popular, because he wanted to be a teacher."
"He chose teaching kids over the chance at fame and fortune, and didn't regret it."
"Decided to look him up and he's still a teacher, and doing very well."
"Made me smile."- dasoberirishman
Drumming Music Video GIF by Simple PlanGiphyA Little Compassion Goes A Long Way
"When I was in the 1st grade my mother gave me one of MANY really awful haircuts."
"The first day back at school afterward the kids picked on me horribly."
"So much that I ran out and hid."
"The principal found me and we went back to the classroom and he asked me to wait outside for a minute while he talked to the class."
"He then walked me to his office and bought me a Coke."
"The next day, first thing in the morning, we had an assembly with the entire school and he walked up on stage with his head shaved completely bald and talked about bullying and the like."
"Some twenty years down the road he had retired and I ran into him at the local college."
"Shook his hand and said, 'you probably don't remember me, but-'"
"'Yes I do', he interrupted and said my name and the event."
"The man was and is a hero in my eyes."- hopgeek
Their Door Is Always Open
"I want to shout out this teacher of mine."
"She was our AP English Language teacher for our senior year of high school."
"On one of the first days in her class, she explained how she went from being a kindergarten teacher to a high school senior teacher."
"She always saw off her cute and happy kindergarten kids, but as they grew up and they came back to visit her, a lot of them came to her troubled and dissatisfied with their lives."
"It made her real emotional about how people had treated these kids she loved so much, how she couldn't afford to see kids so disconnected with life, and how she didn't want them to suffer as they headed out towards college and their adult lives."
"So she changed curriculums and started teaching seniors."
"If I remember right, it always came down to sending her kids off with a smile, prepping them for the real world."
"I respect the hell out of her and she'll always be one of my favorites."
"Truly like a mother to all her students."- NuluProton
Teachers Day Hug GIF by Teach StemGiphyHelping Their Students In Each And Every Way
"My 4th grade teacher would have a 'classroom yard sale' every year after she did her annual Spring cleaning."
"Her daughter was about 13, so the things she'd recently outgrown would be age-appropriate for us."
"I'm aware this wouldn't work out every year, and I'm not sure how long she taught at our school but she told us it was a regular thing."
"We didn't have to pay for them."
"If we needed or wanted something, we could have it."
"There was some sort of lesson incorporated into the yard sale."
"How to trade or value money or something like that, so we didn't feel embarrassed if we needed a few more things than the other kids did."
"I wish I could remember exactly how it worked, but this happened in 1994."
"She was an all-around great teacher."
"Thanks, Miss Ferrell, whose name I've probably misspelled."
"Your class was fun."- NeedsMoreTuba
A truly great teacher doesn't just teach you facts from a textbook.
A truly great teacher is one who likes to listen more than they like to talk.
By doing so, they learn more about their students.
As they continue to learn, their strengths as a teacher grow even stronger, and they, in turn, help students learn more about themselves.
Who was a teacher who impacted your life? Let us know in the comments.
Teachers Share The Best 'Wild But True' Excuses Students Have Given For Being Late
When students arrive late for class, teachers hear any number of excuses.
These range from the believable, such as being caught in traffic or illness, to the truly unbelievable.
So unbelievable, in fact, that teachers likely won't be able to help but roll their eyes at how ridiculous their excuse was.
Until they find themselves biting their tongue when against the odds, the far-fetched excuse turned out to be true.
Redditor MineCraftPlayer48 was eager to hear the wildest excuses teachers heard from their students which eventually turned out to be true, leading them to ask:
"Teachers of Reddit, what was the best excuse for being late that turned out to be true?"
Why Would Someone Lie About This?
"Hmmm, I had a student whose father had died and had not done any homework or prep for the geography class."
"From what I heard the teacher scolded him for not doing so, but the student didn’t want to say anything, presumably sensitive issue, so his best friend shouted at the teacher 'DONT YOU HAVE ANY SHAME, HIS FATHER DIED LAST NIGHT' and the teacher said 'I don’t care', there was an audible gasp and I was in the next room."
"Needless to say that teacher is no longer employed here."- 19you1
Sad But True.
"She had to take her sister to school and drive her mom to rehab."
"She was always late to class because her mom just wanted to sleep in."
"Problem was, if the mom was late or did not go she would have violated her probation and gone to prison."
"I never marked her late."
"If she missed anything important she could come in at lunch or after school to make it up."- Rm156
But They Still Made It!
"Student here, I headed into school early to get some studying done in the library before my night class."
"I was one exit away when I was caught in a 3 car accident."
"Most of the expressway afterwards was gridlock with only one lane left open."
"I did eventually make it into my lab class 15 minutes late, with a few scrapes and bruises."
"My professors reaction was simply 'Oh that was you!'"- AlienCowAbduction
Where To Even Begin?...
"Not a student, but one of my Teaching Assistants when I ran a pre-school in West Philly."
"'Sorry I missed yesterday, my friend shot my mom'."
"Naturally, I'm a little speechless."
"'Oh no it's ok, he was AIMING FOR SOMEONE ELSE'."- Scoutnjw
Yep, You Heard That Correctly
"I was one of about 20 kids who were late to school."
"We showed up at the school office as a group and when questioned why we were late, we said 'the school bus blew up'."
"They questioned 'ao the engine blew up'."
"The kids 'no, the whole bus, in flames. It blew up'."
"There was much conference between the teachers, all of them thinking we embellished the story."
"Next thing you know, one of the admin staff has the news website open, very obvious image of an entire bus on fire with a bunch of kids in our school uniform standing in front of it."
"Our late slip for class read 'school bus blew up'."- AusPB90
Caring Is The Sign Of A Great Teacher
"Former student here."
"'Sorry, boss, my stepdad tried to kill us last night and I had to deal with the cops'."
"Professor just looked at me for a moment and said 'dude do you want to like, go grab a drink and talk about this after class?'"
"Man, my English prof was a bro when I was in college."- DoughnutMcCoy
Biking Under The Influence?
"Told me he got pulled over by the cops for wobbly driving on his bike and they thought he was drunk."
"Turned out he was just dodging all the slugs on the street."- Fortisvol
Peter Griffin Can Relate
"A guy in my college class missed class one day."
"The next day he came in with his eye covered up and medical paperwork in hand."
"Apparently he got pecked in the eye by a chicken."- BrrToe
Highway Robbery!
"School sporting event."
"Kid on our team was late because someone stole his windshield wipers and it was snowing out."
"Kept having to pull over to the side of the road and wipe off his windshield."- wrstlr3232
All The Proof They Needed...
"Not teacher, but pupil."
"I was in a car crash on my way to school."
"About 5 cars involved because some jerk decided to overtake us since we slowed down coming to a turn."
"So a trip to the hospital to get checked, and then school 3 hours late."
"I had small cuts all over my face from glass flying everywhere and had a really sore shoulder, but my teachers wouldn't believe me until police showed up because they forgot to get a statement from me."
"Apparently some of the other involved people died and the jerk got 8 years in prison."- jogfx
No doubt, some students will go to almost absurdly great lengths to get out of being in trouble.
After reading some of these stories, however, maybe teachers will err on the side of believing their students.
For who knows, maybe the dog actually did eat their homework...
Think back to your K-12 days. You had A LOT of teachers in those 13 years.
Let's ball park it with some quick math. K-6 you probably had one main teacher, maybe a few more with "specials" like library or gym. That's 3 per year for 7 years, so 21.
Then 7-12 you had about 6 teachers, one for each subject. That's 36 teachers, plus the 21 from earlier makes roughly 57 teachers in all your years at school (not to mention college, if you decided to go, but we won't even count that for now).
Depending on how many years it's been since you graduated high school, you probably only remember a fraction of that list of nearly 60 people.
Which begs the question: why? Why do we remember certain teachers?
Those memorable few were either insanely mean, hilarious, amazing at educating, or just good, genuine human beings. Some Redditors gathered to discuss the most positive memories of teachers, and the exact moments they were solidified as heroes.
ApacheAirCover asked,
"What did a teacher do that made you automatically gain respect for them?"
A few Redditors were impressed by the teachers who understood their role as the adults in a room of either children or--even worse--teenagers.
These teachers, in one fell swoop, stepped up as powerful defenders of bullying victims. And they did it with grace and humor.
Joining In
"When I was in the 1st grade my mother gave me one of MANY really awful haircuts. The first day back at school afterward the kids picked on me horribly. So much that I ran out and hid."
"The principal found me and we went back to the classroom and he asked me to wait outside for a minute while he talked to the class. He then walked me to his office and bought me a Coke."
"The next day - first thing in the morning - we had an assembly with the entire school and he walked up on stage with his head shaved completely bald and talked about bullying and the like."
"Some twenty years down the road he had retired and I ran into him at the local college. Shook his hand and said, 'You probably don't remember me, but...'"
"'Yes I do,' he interrupted and said my name and the event. The man was and is a hero in my eyes."
-- hopgeek
Nipped in the Bud
"My high school science teacher paused class to rip a student apart for bullying another student."
"Called it out as soon as it happened, in front of everyone, and that bully never went near that other kid again. Will always remember that."
-- Mariospario
How to Take it Seriously While Keeping Things Light
"10th grade English teacher, huge prankster and joker. He heard one student make fun of another student in a degrading way and proceeded to use the last 30 minutes of class to hold a trial for the punishment."
"The bully was given a week of cleaning the halls after school had let out. Never bullied again."
"This is also the same teacher who made us listen to T Pain while reading Thomas Paine. By far my favorite teacher."
Others remembered the teachers that were keenly perceptive of students' lives outside the school context.
These teachers took it upon themselves to be a resource for when hardships of home-life struck, be it through emotional support or pragmatic assistance.
All on the Same Side
"It was a professor, but she said she wasn't going to have a textbook for the class. Basically, she didn't respect the textbook representatives trying to take the pharma approach to force kids to buy an $170 access code."
"Instant respect. You just had to show up to the lectures and she'd teach you what you needed to know."
A Good Background to Have
"I had a business studies teacher who used to be a mental health professional. So she knew the signs when my depression was particularly bad (for example submitting work at 3am)..."
"...and would always make sure I had eaten and offered me coffee and generally made her classroom a safe space for anyone. Sesstein if you're reading this you're amazing!!"
Investing in the Future
"I remember my 5th grade teacher had every student circle one book from the Scholastic book fair flyer."
"When the day came for the fair if you didn't go to the library to purchase that book for yourself, she would buy it with her own money to make sure every student got to take a book home. I wouldn't have had any books of my own if it weren't for her."
-- banhbohap
Don't Fight Nature
"Told us a joke about his name (before we could) and allowed us to eat during his classes 'because kids your age can't help being hungry all the time,' as long as we did it quietly."
"Great guy. His whole attitude made all of us actually pay attention and do our best."
Creating Community
"I had a physical education teacher who organised basketball, volleyball, handball and football tournaments, organised 'olympic games' for the local kids and taught us dancing on weekends."
"On his own. Just for us kids, because we lived in a remote place without many activities and things going on. He was more than a simple teacher."
-- remote_peach
Dedicating Time and Attention
"A math teacher went to the hospital several times to visit a student who had been seriously injured in an accident."
"The teacher offered companionship, free tutoring, and genuine encouragement."
-- Back2Bach
Showing Generosity and Doing it With Subtlety
"When I was a kid we had to purchase these red punch cards to get lunch at school."
"Unfortunately we didn't have that much money so there were times where my punch card would run out and I wasn't able to eat for a while until we got enough money to repurchase another one (why nobody in my family applied for assistance was beyond me)."
"I had one teacher who noticed I wasn't eating every day and she would bring an extra sandwich and offer it to me whenever she saw that. I really didn't understand how kind that was when I was a kid but obviously as an adult That was such an amazing gesture of kindness."
A Few Words That Spoke Volumes
"I moved out of home during high school. It was stressful, to say the least. I started to fall behind in assignments, I would be absent for days at time, I missed tests etc."
"I ended up explaining the bare minimum of my situation to my English teacher, and their response always stuck with me."
"'Just do what you can.'"
"It may not seem like much, but right then and there, for sixteen year old kid who felt like simply living was a burden... it was everything."
-- jodehleh
And of course, we cannot forget the teachers who were exceptionally good, well, teachers. These educators deliberately made sure they did all they could to mentor kids and expand their minds.
Sometimes that meant taking a less conventional route, or even being open to confrontation.
Tough Lessons
"Not take my sh**. I was a pretty decent writer in school; able to pop stuff out pretty quickly that was superficial but sounded good."
"The first time I had a teacher hand my work back pointing out that I managed to compellingly fail to say anything was sort of a slap in the face that I didn't realize I needed."
Focused on the Priority
"math teacher : 'I don't care if you have good grades or bad grades, if you work hard, I will work harder to make you pass.' "
"He worked hard for me; I passed ..."
-- Thesorus
A Mature, Level-Headed Discussion
"Junior year of high school, English class. We were discussing a story we had read. One student (let's call him Carl,) made a point. The teacher was dismissive and basically said Carl was wrong."
"The next day, after we took our seats the teacher said, 'Before we begin, I was thinking about what Carl said yesterday. I was wrong to dismiss it so quickly. Let's take a look at that again.'"
"He then went on to repeat Carl's point and initiate a conversation with the entire class. After the conversation, it became apparent Carl's point was indeed off base, but I was impressed the teacher publicly owned his mistake and went down the path he should have."
-- Andreas_NYC
Just So Attentive
"I went to a small charter school for middle school. Our English/literature teacher was brand new to teaching, if I remember correctly she was only 22 which seemed old at the time. She always did her best to be so cheerful and make learning fun."
"But the thing that truly solidified her spot as my favorite teacher was that for every student's birthday she would give you a personalized mini notebook."
"It was just a simple small composition notebook but she had filled the first couple pages telling me how much she loved having me as a student, how far she knew I would go, and other affirmations."
"It seems small but as a 13 year old who had a crappy home life it made all the difference in how I acted the rest of the year."
Hook, Line, and Sinker
"Instead of shouting at my loud class for not shutting up before the lesson began, my history teacher decided to quietly tell the story of a pink elephant that wanted to be an astronaut."
"After a few seconds, people started to shut up and listen about the pink elephant. When everyone was quiet and listening, he stopped mid-story."
"As much as it made me respect him.. WHY DIDN'T YOU FINISH THE STORY FFS! THAT CLIFFHANGER!"
-- Cae1us
The Long View
"This will probably get lost, but I want to shout out this teacher of mine. She was our AP English Language teacher for our senior year of high school. On one of the first days in her class, she explained how she went from being a kindergarten teacher to a high school senior teacher."
"She always saw off her cute and happy kindergarten kids, but as they grew up and they came back to visit her, a lot of them came to her troubled and dissatisfied with their lives."
"It made her real emotional about how people had treated these kids she loved so much, how she couldn't afford to see kids so disconnected with life, and how she didn't want them to suffer as they headed out towards college and their adult lives."
"So she changed curriculums and started teaching seniors. If I remember right, it always came down to sending her kids off with a smile, prepping them for the real world."
"I respect the hell out of her and she'll always be one of my favorites. Truly like a mother to all her students."
-- NuluProton
So think back to the handful of teachers you remember from your time in school. There are probably a few mean ones, but plenty of great ones too.
What made them great? What was the moment you knew it?
Reopening schools in the era of the virus is an absolute mess.
Sure, administering lessons via video sharing is not ideal. Attention wavers even more than usual, teachers are burdened by the Goliath task of adapting lesson plans to the platform, and parents are forced to work from home while also acting as a psuedo teacher's aid.
But a recent Reddit thread makes one thing clear: many teachers would rather stick with those difficulties than go back to school prematurely. The countless dangerous factors are enough to make their--and our--heads spin.
Teachers who actually do the work can she light on the nitty gritty of the reopening animal. Logistical pitfalls that teachers have learned over the years allow them to predict where the issues would arise. Their responses on the thread paint a nuanced, scary picture.
makeshift_permanence asked, "Teachers of Reddit, how are you feeling about doing in-person classes right now?"
Racing Thoughts
"What happens if I contract COVID? Do I need to have two weeks of lessons prepared for a substitute at all times? Can there possibly be enough substitute teaching candidates out there to fill all the gaps left by COVID diagnoses or suspected COVID diagnoses (or contact with COVID)?"
"Substitutes already do not make a living wage for their work (or if they do, it's barely so); I can't imagine they're going to be more enthusiastic about going to schools under these circumstances."
"Bathroom breaks/tissue/drinks. Kids are kind of gross already. To maintain top flight cleanliness and social distancing, I feel an inordinate amount of class time will be devoted to routines."
"I envision super long bathroom breaks so everyone has a chance to have the bathroom to themselves. Time out of every hour to clean or wipe down laptops, manipulatives, desks, etc."
"We already spend a lot of time on routines (pre-COVID) so doubling down makes me wonder exactly how much time will be left to actually try to teach."
"What happens under a worst case scenario situation? Our student body has a lot of grandparents standing in as primary guardians. What happens if a student contracts COVID at school and takes it home to their advanced age primary caretaker?"
"Is our small community prepared to take responsibility for the preventable death of a student's primary guardian?"
-- rake2204
The Damage is Done, and More Will Come Either Way
"In the UK (English) Secondary Schools are are due back in full in September with no expectations of social distancing and very little guidance for risk assessment. I work in the worst affected borough of London where huge numbers of our kids have lost family members."
"Over 50% of kids live in poverty, we have the highest levels of gang crime, radicalisation, child abuse, and neglect, and only around 5 - 10% of kids in classes have had access to internet for remote learning since we went into lockdown in March."
"Many I haven't heard from at all. Social services and child protective services are already overwhelmed."
"I am worried for myself and my colleagues as we enter precarious working conditions. But mostly I worry for the kids and their community. We cannot go back to normal and many will be deeply traumatised."
"When I try to talk about how anxious I feel, nobody in my family or friendship group understands, they just tell me to stop worrying and enjoy my summer break."
-- pinjooo
Sorting Out Priorities
"College professor here. I really miss the wonderful classroom dynamics that in-person learning makes possible. Online learning makes discussions more strained and shallow. I also really love working with my students and discussing their projects one-on-one."
"That is much harder to do remotely. However, I care about my students as people, and the thought of making them and their families sick by returning to campus too soon makes me very worried. I want them to get a good education, but not at the expense of their health and well being."
"I would rather work twice as hard to make online learning successful than risk them getting sick or losing parents and grandparents to this illness."
Harrowing Circumstances for Data Collection
"Our start date got pushed back 2 weeks, then it's 9 weeks online. that buys 11 weeks to figure out the smart thing to do next. there will be plenty of data from the schools that are pushed to open sooner."
"Can someone explain why the white house isn't doing mask-optional public tours if schools are being pushed to open?"
-- cesarjulius
Ground Zero
"I'm terrified. I work at a high school in Texas. Last year my largest class had 36 students. Between kids not having school supplies, passing in the hallways, gym, sports, discipline, & teenage hormones I know for a FACT that social distancing & keeping things clean can't work."
"If full grown adults refuse to wear a mask then imagine 1000s of teenagers. Our school has a daycare too, with babies. It's too risky & it's unfair to ask us to risk not only our lives but the lives of our students. This is not a hoax."
"There is no getting back to normal. We either have to accept it or risk certain death. I am not exaggerating with any of this."
-- BlkMsFrizzle
The Elephant in the Room
"Tbh, I'm terrified to go back and I've been dealing with a lot of anxiety around the pandemic this whole time."
"The thought of going back to college where the students are going to continue throwing huge parties and not giving a sh**, and then coming to class to infect everyone else absolutely freaks me out."
-- ZOSOtelecast
Heroes, Within Reason
"I am a school librarian at an elementary school with 900 students. I am young. I have no children. I am healthy."
I am f***ing terrified."
"I may love being a 'hero' to your kids, but I did not sign up to be an actual 'knowingly lay down your life' hero. The fact that so many are urging us to go back to 'protect the economy' shows just how f***ed this whole system is."
"Staying home is absolutely causing trauma for everyone, staff and students. But will it cause more trauma when their teacher, principal, para, custodian, dies? Not to mention their grandma or aunt or parents or classmate."
"'Only .2% of kids will die'" Devos touts. In my district, that means 4. 4 student deaths in a district of five schools. Not to mention the teachers or family members."
"I am f***ing terrified."
-- spoonugget
Rock and a Hard Place
"I'm an elementary music teacher. My job is to have kids sing, play games in the room with others, play instruments, and learn how to be good human beings. I see every single kid in the school."
"I am so fearful."
"My entire class is pretty much upended by in person classes. They can't sing because obviously, they can't play instruments (percussion/string) because they'd have to share the instruments with each other."
"We can't play games because the games are meant to encourage playing an instrument or singing a song, and also include group/partner work."
"And if they expect me to do that anyways, then I'm not comfortable with that in the slightest."
-- Zenku390
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