WEBVTT - Chicago Public School's Pro-COVID Lockout Part 2 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:07.520 Welcome to It Could Happen Here, a podcast about things 0:00:07.560 --> 0:00:10.960 going badly and falling apart. And today we are back 0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:13.600 with part two for interview with Lucy about how the 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:16.600 Chicago Public school system is falling apart under the relentless 0:00:16.600 --> 0:00:19.759 assault of cruelty and malice and incompetence by the Chicago 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:24.120 Public Schools and by the Mayor, LORDE. Lightfoot. Enjoy there's 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:26.520 everything I want to talk about a bit, which is 0:00:27.360 --> 0:00:29.760 when you've been back, when you've been sort of teaching 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:32.320 in these really like sort of what what is it 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:34.360 actually like to teach in these classrooms? And like you know, 0:00:34.600 --> 0:00:37.479 how how safe actually is it? So, I mean I've 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:40.360 been in a lot of different environments. When I was 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:43.720 teaching middle schoolers, I did not feel super COVID safe. 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:48.479 Um they aren't. I don't know if people know this 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:51.800 about middle school age kids. They love to touch each other, 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:54.760 especially boys. They love to like wrestle. There was putting 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:57.800 each other in headlocks. I am constantly having to just 0:00:57.840 --> 0:01:01.520 be like six feet six ft apart or three ft 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:04.319 or whatever CDC has said we are now. Um, they 0:01:04.360 --> 0:01:06.640 don't put their masks on, They put their masks in 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:10.639 their mouths. All the time, like in their mouths. Um. 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:13.640 There's they're constantly finding like weird little excuses to have 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:15.839 their mask off. Like they'll just sit there with like 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:17.280 like there are a lot to have water bottles because 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:19.160 they can't use the water countains. They'll just sit there 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:23.119 with like a straw in their mouth for like extended 0:01:23.120 --> 0:01:24.840 amounts of time. And I'm like, I need you to 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:26.920 put your mask up, take quicksips and put your mask up. 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:30.280 And they're like I'm drinking, Like I'm going to be 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:33.960 drinking at the end of this day, but like, I know, 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:36.840 take a quick sip, put your mask back up. It's 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:40.720 really really important for your safety. Um. And then I 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:43.360 have other kids who are absolutely straight up like terrified 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:48.080 of this because like they've lost parents, they've lost grandparents. Um, 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:51.720 it's it's really scary. UM. At the high school level, 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:53.560 it's been a little better. High school kids are a 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:56.520 little more rational. UM, but I still have a few 0:01:56.520 --> 0:01:59.320 who are just like their masks are down around their 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:01.080 chins all the time and we're under their nose and 0:02:01.080 --> 0:02:04.880 I'm I'll like several times of class fear like okay, 0:02:04.920 --> 0:02:06.920 time for everybody to do a mass check. Make sure 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:10.840 your mask is covering your nose, your mouth, your chin. Um, 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:12.600 I'll remind them like I have a spouse at home 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:16.080 who has an underlying condition and like, please don't have 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:18.920 me bring home a deadly disease to him, because that 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:22.240 would really not be great. Um, most of them are 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:24.919 pretty good, but still they're getting sick. Like I think 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:28.920 we had like forty kids out of my building one Monday, 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:32.400 and like twenty eight staff members or something like that. 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:37.040 We're out and we had one sub which is the 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:39.400 other That's the other issue is this isn't really a 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:43.200 question of, um, if we should go remote. It's a 0:02:43.280 --> 0:02:46.639 question of when will we be forced to go remote. 0:02:46.800 --> 0:02:49.600 And we can either do that now before everybody has 0:02:49.600 --> 0:02:52.280 gotten sick and wait for this to subside and get 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:56.080 some better mitigation strategies in place, or we can do 0:02:56.120 --> 0:02:58.160 it after everybody is sick, and then we're going to 0:02:58.240 --> 0:03:00.680 be scrambling to figure it out and also be sick 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:02.679 at the same time. I don't really see how that 0:03:02.720 --> 0:03:05.560 makes any sense. Yeah, that's the part of this. And 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:09.800 I've just been like I just like I don't get it, 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:12.720 Like I just like, fundamentally, there's there's like a mental 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:18.840 break where it's like I don't understand why, like Lightfoot 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:22.320 and CPS so insistance about not going remote, Like I 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:25.240 get that, like yeah, it's it's hard on kids, but 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:32.120 it's like it's it's you know, it is the years two, 0:03:32.240 --> 0:03:35.120 Like no matter what you do, it's it's hard on 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:40.560 the kids, And it's like, yeah, I also I wonder 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:42.560 how much of it is the remote learning that's hard 0:03:42.560 --> 0:03:44.520 on them, and how much of it is just the 0:03:45.560 --> 0:03:48.680 um everything around them is crashing and following and burning 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:52.120 around their ears because um, the messaging that they've been 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:55.160 getting is that they don't matter. They're not important, their 0:03:55.160 --> 0:04:00.160 safety isn't important, their families aren't important, and um, some 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:02.880 of them like want to be remote. A lot of them, 0:04:02.920 --> 0:04:04.520 a lot of their parents want them to be remote. 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:07.360 They're like, you know, it's not as good, but at 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:11.320 least I feel safe. Some of them even thrived in 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:13.960 remote like actually did pretty well. And I really wish 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:16.080 that it was just an option for those students who 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:18.280 actually did well with it, that they could just like 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:20.360 if we even ended up with like a third of 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:23.760 our students choosing it, it would mitigate this so much, 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:26.520 because that's a third of the people not they're to 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:31.040 spread it around. UM. So how how big? How big 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:36.680 your class sizes are? Um? Right now the building I'm 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:41.839 in now, I have like thirty in some my it 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:46.200 was kind of similar at the last building. Like they're 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:49.760 in that range. I have like always have like one 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:51.479 or two that are like the twenty or below that 0:04:51.520 --> 0:04:55.479 are usually um special education like inclusion classes where I 0:04:55.480 --> 0:05:01.080 have co teacher. Um. But yeah, it's you know, some 0:05:01.120 --> 0:05:03.760 of them are pretty crowded, and it really varies by school. 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:07.680 Like there's definitely schools that have over thirty kids in 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:11.440 a room, um and don't have the staff because it's 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:14.559 just that's the other thing is like they keep talking about, 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:16.600 you know, I keep seeing people be like fire all 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:20.400 the teachers, and I'm like, good luck, Like, yes, is 0:05:20.480 --> 0:05:25.320 chronically understaffed. What are you gonna do this? Yeah? I 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:29.160 think again, like this job is really hard, Like it's 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:34.839 being a teacher. Yeah, it's hard. It's exhausting, and it's 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:38.360 very very rewarding. Like when it's good, it's great. When 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:44.120 it's bad it is miserable. Um. So yeah, and like 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:46.960 what it looks like and I mean that's you know, 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:49.880 it depends, it really depends on what school you're in. Um, 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:55.160 I think everybody can agree that it is difficult right now. Um, 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:58.839 so we we have like air purifiers going and masks on, 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:02.159 and I cannot understand what my kids are saying a 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:03.760 lot of the time, Like I do not know, and 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:07.080 they speak so quietly. Yeah, like I need you to 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:10.920 shout it, say it like you mean whatever it is. 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:15.520 So but you know, that's been challenging and frustrating and exhausting. 0:06:15.720 --> 0:06:19.599 But um, the worst thing ever is finding out that 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:22.320 one of my students is sick. Like I hate when 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:24.320 they're I hate it when they hurt, Like whenever that 0:06:24.440 --> 0:06:27.160 one of them is hurting, I feel bad. And knowing 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:30.360 that their home sick is it's it's really upsetting and 0:06:30.560 --> 0:06:33.599 just it's you know, it's distressing for teachers to know 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:35.960 that their kids are struggling in a way like that. 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:48.360 So that's you know, we want them to be safe, 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:51.880 you know, like like these kids, it's like and this 0:06:51.920 --> 0:06:53.400 is this is true of the staff too. When you 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:56.200 when you're getting sick, it's like, yeah, like some of 0:06:56.200 --> 0:06:58.440 these people will be okay, but enormous numbers of people 0:06:58.480 --> 0:06:59.960 are like so, man, these people are gonna die something. 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:01.800 People a lot of these people are going to get disabled. 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:05.920 Um yeah, I mean the long term long terfects really bad. 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:11.200 And you know, one off, if people remember we we 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:13.080 did an episode with when our Friends us a nurse 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:15.080 and like, yeah, like he he had long COVID. His 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:18.680 long COVID was like he he couldn't do more than 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:20.880 like like getting out of bed or like like walking 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:22.680 across the room, which just put him in bed all day. 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:26.040 Because there's you know, there there's an enormous range of 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:31.520 sort of like of of long COVID side effects. And yeah, 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:35.680 it's like it's it's it's like CPS is just child 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:40.240 cope of schools. It's just like they're getting people killed. Yeah, 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:43.440 and it's and it's you know, that's like the question 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:46.160 like they keep talking about percentages and I'm like, these 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:49.160 are human beings. Every one of the numbers is a human. 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:52.720 So when you say like only you know, point whatever 0:07:52.800 --> 0:07:57.720 percent are going to be long term affected, like, okay, 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:02.000 those are people. Can we stop like dehumanizing them with 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:07.560 these like data points and um as for like the 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:11.680 issue with like how like kids are less affected by 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:14.240 or whatever, Like the fact is like the more we 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:17.960 allow this to spread around the more variants we're going 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:21.239 to see, and we don't know that the next variant 0:08:21.320 --> 0:08:24.320 isn't going to be the one that is really significantly 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:28.120 harmful to children. And we are basically turning our schools 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:31.960 into these peatree dishes where this thing can mutate and 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:35.920 become stronger. And now we have vaccinated people who are 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:38.720 in that mix, and it's becoming resistant to the vaccine. 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:43.440 So you know, I'm a social studie teacher, not a 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:47.560 science teacher, but this seems like a bad move to me. Yeah, yeah, 0:08:47.559 --> 0:08:51.600 it's I don't know, it's it's just sort of heartbreaking 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:54.600 a lot of ways. I mean, it's just like they've 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:57.959 just decided that, you know, and again, like I don't 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:00.200 I don't know why Lightfoot's doing this, Like maybe just 0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:02.280 like she wants to share up her base thing because 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:05.080 she's trying to build a base among like the just 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:10.240 like rich, Weirddorsiders or something. But like it's she's a 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:13.560 small business person. That's always when people are the small 0:09:13.600 --> 0:09:17.960 business owners who don't want to close schools because then 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:23.000 you know, their workers won't come in, and you know, 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:25.839 I want to feel sorry for them, but I know, 0:09:26.360 --> 0:09:29.160 I don't know, like I was like fuck you, because 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:31.960 there's also a lot of small business owners who have 0:09:32.000 --> 0:09:34.600 been very supportive of us. We had uh there's like 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:38.480 a taco place offering free burritos to us, Like I 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:42.040 really appreciate that. Like there's a community who understand that, 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:44.760 like the lives of our children are so much more 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:49.319 important than you missing two weeks of profit, Like you 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:51.040 will figure that out. And if you want to bail 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:54.960 out businesses, um, we can figure that out. But right now. 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:59.600 And also like is is saying like we have we 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:03.360 aren't we refused to do anything that might be inconvenient 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:08.480 for business owners, Like what is that? Yeah, and it's 0:10:08.480 --> 0:10:10.360 like it's like yeah, so you know. And also yeah, 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:12.160 but like business owners did get bailed out, like they 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:14.199 got they got they got zero presented loans. Most of 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:17.200 those loans got written off. And meanwhile, yeah, it's like, well, okay, 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:18.640 what did life to do with the COVID buddy? She 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:20.920 she gave it to the cops. And oh, hey, guess 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:23.240 guess who's also just a ramperants better of COVID? Oh 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:29.079 yeah it's the cops. Yeah, resisted vaccines the most, the cops. 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:31.400 I mean, actually, there there there, there is one funny 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:33.679 thing which I'm actually very excited about, which is that 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:36.319 the cops are doing they're having their first so that 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:40.160 they have a new class graduating. But for the police academies, 0:10:40.160 --> 0:10:43.120 which is really bad, and there's a whole well, one 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:44.839 of one of the like life Foot's things was that 0:10:44.880 --> 0:10:47.480 there there was a huge campaign against building more police 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:50.200 academies because you know, everyone hates told a police apartment. 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:53.240 They're awful. And if you have a hundred billion dollars 0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:55.720 for a new police academy, why or a hundred million 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:59.200 or whatever it was, why can't you put some better 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:01.840 ventilation in the schools? Yeah, well it's gonna yeah because 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:06.080 because because like the CPD are like basically feudal lords. 0:11:06.480 --> 0:11:08.440 They have nights, they go out, they can shoot you, 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:12.360 like they rob you. They just like any any any 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:15.480 large number of like black kids on the streets, Like 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:17.760 if you just have like fifteen kids walking around, like 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:20.280 eight quad cars will show up. And you know that 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:22.280 there was in Lightfoot was like no, no, no, her 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:23.760 like one of her campaign things, big and pain things 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:25.480 like no, no no, We're gonna make sure we build these academies. 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:28.360 And but so they're they're having their first like rounded. 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:32.600 They they've been having trouble recruiting because good yeah, and 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:35.120 and they're they're about to have their first police Academy 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:38.400 exam and it's gonna be in person, and I am 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:40.240 this is the only what are the few? Is this? 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:42.600 And jaire Bosonaro where it's like I am rooting for 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:46.400 the virus here, like please God save us from these cops. 0:11:46.880 --> 0:11:49.679 But yeah, it's it's but they're just at home and 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:54.200 spread it around. Yeah, yeah, that's a sad thing. It's 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:59.320 it's just it's grotesque. And yeah, yeah, it's been this 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:02.199 thing where I'm like watching, like the school system is 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:05.160 just throwing their hands up, been saying we don't care, 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:09.880 We're done. The health system, the health care system is 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:14.600 like crashing and burning all around us. Nurses are quitting, 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:19.199 hospitals are like we don't have room for more patients, 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:22.760 Like did you have a cancer treatment schedule? Sorry? Did 0:12:22.800 --> 0:12:25.240 you have a surgery scheduled? Sorry? I just saw somebody 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:29.280 on Twitter saying she um has a brain tumor and 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:31.200 she's supposed to have a surgery for it and she 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:34.079 can't now because of COVID. Because they have no beds, 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:37.000 there aren't any and you're telling me that the right 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:39.880 move right now is to keep the schools open, which 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:46.120 has always been in every every pandemic that we've ever had. 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:51.559 Schools and hospitals and prisons are like the place where 0:12:51.600 --> 0:12:54.559 the whatever diseases spreads. And I know we've been claiming 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:57.360 that like there's not been spread in schools, but we've 0:12:57.640 --> 0:12:59.400 now seen the data that there, in fact is a 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:02.720 huge amount. Which I've been like screaming about this since 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:07.640 we started that their contact tracing models are they're absurd. 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:12.679 They are like kafka esque, Like basically, um, so we 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:16.680 start from the assumption that everybody is six ft apart 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:21.199 and wearing the mask at all times, which it's not. 0:13:21.320 --> 0:13:24.120 It's not even it's not even physically possible in a 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:26.680 lot of classrooms for that to be happening. And then too, 0:13:27.080 --> 0:13:30.720 we start with the assumption that those things work, and 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:34.199 so you'll get a call from a contact racer that's like, hey, 0:13:34.640 --> 0:13:40.760 um on, you know, like last Tuesday, Tuesday of last week, 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:43.959 were you within six ft of any of your eighth 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:46.560 graders for more than fifteen minutes? Funk? If I know, 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:49.559 Tuesday of last week, was I near an eighth grader 0:13:49.600 --> 0:13:52.560 for fifteen minutes. I don't know. I have no idea 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:56.120 even if, like, even if I did know, what difference 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:59.240 does it make. It is an aerosolized virus. It is 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:02.080 in the air, and the more you sit in classrooms, 0:14:02.400 --> 0:14:05.800 the more it accumulates. Like we have seen like studies 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:09.840 about um this, We've seen studies about how CEO two 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:13.319 accumulates in the air when there's crowds. We know that 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:16.640 stuff accumulates like that in classrooms, very very quickly. And 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:19.560 you're gonna tell me that as long as I wasn't 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:23.560 within fifteen or within six ft for more than fifteen 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:28.560 continuous minutes, not even like um, not even fifteen minutes 0:14:28.640 --> 0:14:31.640 like added up throughout the day, just fifteen minutes continuously, 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:34.320 I'm not going to get a virus. You shipping me 0:14:34.520 --> 0:14:37.440 like that makes no sense. And so then if and 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:39.400 if and if you're answer to those questions are no, 0:14:40.760 --> 0:14:44.680 because whatever you were following the rules, then they're like, Okay, 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:47.880 you got COVID somewhere else. It wasn't at school, Yeah, no, 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:51.120 it doesn't. It's nonsense. It's like I go to work 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:52.760 and I go home. I don't do anything else, so 0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:55.160 I don't know where else it's coming from like yeah, 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:57.480 like and I also just I want to do do 0:14:57.480 --> 0:15:00.240 a brief digression about like okay, so like like like 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:02.880 I went to like a like a pretty good like 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:05.080 like a pretty well like a very well funded like 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:09.840 a Chicago area school and like, okay, those places, those 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:13.000 places ventilation sucks. Like again, like again, I went to 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:14.960 a very well funded school. Like we had a we 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:19.080 had drowned dead rats falling out of the ceiling like 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:23.200 it was. It was incredibly my my, my, my great 0:15:23.280 --> 0:15:26.520 high school memories with my principle just like running full 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:30.960 tilt pushing a trash can because dead drownd friend see 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:36.640 liked lord. My school was wild. We had how bad 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:39.600 it was like a kind of a chemistry teacher let 0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:41.600 a kid set off a smoke bomb like that they 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:43.880 made like in a classroom, but it didn't work, so 0:15:43.920 --> 0:15:47.840 it just like actually blew up. It was a time 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:52.120 but like like base learning, okay, got to light the 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:54.760 school on fire. But like like this is a this 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:57.440 is like yeah, like like these schools are not like 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:01.200 they're not environments. Yeah. The building I worked in at 0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:02.920 the beginning of the year was a hundred years old. 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:05.400 It was built in nineteen twenty and there was always 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:08.640 this like sewage smell around the bathroom as the pipes 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:11.760 were messed up. It was weird, like and they couldn't 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:14.160 fix it. I think it was I was the second 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:16.560 or third time by building lived on fire. Like we 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:17.920 there was a there was a whole thing in the 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:20.640 building that was made of asbestos and they just had 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:22.800 left it because it was like it wasn't exposed. Yeah, 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:26.760 still have asbestos over Like I get like I went 0:16:26.800 --> 0:16:30.080 to like a good, well funded one of these schools, 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:34.120 Like it's I think there's there's like there's there's these 0:16:34.120 --> 0:16:36.080 two there's two things. I think it is. Interestingly, there's 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:39.160 when you like talk to like the people who want 0:16:39.200 --> 0:16:42.000 the schools to open back up, right, they'll they're also 0:16:42.040 --> 0:16:44.040 talking about like oh no, it's fine. Everyone wears mass 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:47.880 everyone's vaccinated, everyone succeed. It's like no, no, they're not 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:49.400 like this. This is how it works in this like 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:52.880 imaginary play world you've like created. Have you ever met 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:56.800 a child? Like have you met your own children? Like 0:16:57.400 --> 0:16:58.920 oh and that's the best is like, well, I've been 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:01.120 having my kids wear a mask. You have your full 0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:05.360 of ship, okay, because I hold that kid to put 0:17:05.400 --> 0:17:08.680 their masks on like fifteen times yesterday, and I love 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:11.560 them beautiful face. I hope they get to show it 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:16.840 off someday, but right now, covered up, please, I'm begging you. 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:20.119 And I'm like, I'm not like that teacher who's really authoritarian, 0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:22.919 Like I've never been good at like writing kids up 0:17:22.960 --> 0:17:24.960 and getting on them for stuff because it's just like 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:27.320 I don't know, I hate doing that. I hate being 0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:31.440 that person. So it's been like, really it's like a struggle. 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:34.000 It's like am I going to be the person who 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:38.120 nags them every five seconds? Or am I gonna be 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:41.280 um the teacher that they like and want to learn from? 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:47.399 Like you know, this isn't sustainable. So but you're asking 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:50.119 like the attitudes of people who want to open schools 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:54.320 back up, and I it's it's hard because I have 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:58.240 talked to parents who are worried, but they are also 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:02.199 very upset because they see that their kids are struggling. 0:18:02.840 --> 0:18:05.760 And I really do feel for them on that, like 0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:07.720 I really really do. It is hard to see a 0:18:07.800 --> 0:18:11.640 kids struggle, but it is harder, I think to see 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:16.119 a kid sick. That is really hard. And it's just 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:19.800 this like there are ways that we can overcome the 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:22.960 difficulties of remote learning, Like we we can find ways 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:26.760 to give them the emotional support, Um, we can find 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:31.200 better socializing outlets. But I don't know how we fix 0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:37.119 like you've become very ill and your body isn't going 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:38.879 to recover in the way that you thought it would, Like, 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:51.280 I don't. I can't fix that. So it's something I've 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:54.040 heard from other teachers that like that preparable about learning 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:58.639 stuff like is harder and takes more work than Yeah 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:01.959 it does. It's it's really off. I don't like doing it. 0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:05.119 I want to be in the classroom, but yah, and 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:07.400 I just I just want to like once again, yell 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:09.560 at all of the people who are like the teachers 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:13.040 are lazy and it's like no, people like they're like, yeah, 0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:18.280 like you're you are advocating to do more work because 0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:20.639 that's that's the thing that will keep the kids safe, 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:23.920 and it's Yeah. I think a lot of people don't 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:26.760 understand like the behind the scenes how the sausage gets 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:29.439 made of a classroom. But I think a lot of 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:32.440 people have this idea that like we are given curriculum 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:36.560 and plans and materials pre made, and sometimes that's true, 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:39.879 it depends on your subject. Mine is social size is 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:42.040 not a subject where that happens very much, which is 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:44.520 part of why I like it, because I like to 0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:50.880 be creative. Um, So like my week looks like, UM, 0:19:50.960 --> 0:19:54.560 there are a lot of hours after school where I 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:57.760 am sitting down, I'm looking at the standards that I 0:19:57.800 --> 0:19:59.720 need to teach, the topics that I need to teach, 0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:03.159 and I'm researching it and learning it and finding a 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:07.119 way to teach that to kids who don't have the 0:20:07.200 --> 0:20:11.320 same like baseline knowledge that I have. UM, And then 0:20:11.400 --> 0:20:16.600 I'm creating like an activity for them. I'm creating, um, 0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:20.560 you're I'm finding like material sources and videos and stuff 0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:22.239 that they can watch that are going to help them, 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:25.320 or things to read. I'm modifying those things for the 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:30.400 kids who have, um, you know, learning differences. I'm translating 0:20:30.400 --> 0:20:32.320 some of those things into Spanish for kids who don't 0:20:32.320 --> 0:20:34.880 really read very well in English yet. So, like that's 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:37.080 a ton of work on its own. And then when 0:20:37.080 --> 0:20:38.520 we switch to remote, we have to figure out how 0:20:38.560 --> 0:20:42.440 to do all of that on Google Classroom, where now 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:45.919 it has to all be typed like or you know, 0:20:46.320 --> 0:20:48.159 like how do I figure like how do I do 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:52.560 a group project online. How do I let them do 0:20:52.640 --> 0:20:55.960 something creative that isn't just sitting here answering questions on 0:20:56.040 --> 0:21:00.560 a worksheet. That's hard and we've been really good at it, 0:21:00.600 --> 0:21:02.399 and I've found all kinds of really cool tools to 0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:06.240 do that with. But it's so much work. And it's 0:21:06.280 --> 0:21:08.560 work that I'm willing to do because I care about 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:12.000 my job. I enjoy my work. I love my students, 0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:15.280 but um, you know, and I want them to be safe, 0:21:15.320 --> 0:21:17.080 but like, you know, it is a ton of work. 0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:19.560 I'm not just sitting here eating bond bonds all day 0:21:19.640 --> 0:21:23.679 or drinking cocktails. Yeah. And I think there's there's like 0:21:23.720 --> 0:21:28.040 a larger sort of like like Americans have this like 0:21:28.640 --> 0:21:31.119 the sexist sort of like hatred of like or in 0:21:31.160 --> 0:21:35.199 disrespect to people who do both care work and a 0:21:35.200 --> 0:21:39.840 lot of creative work both. And then simultaneously there's this 0:21:39.880 --> 0:21:42.840 sort of like you know, the there's there's there's a 0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:44.800 resentment to people who get to actually do something that 0:21:44.800 --> 0:21:49.000 helps people. And you know, I think right now we're 0:21:49.000 --> 0:21:52.040 seeing just the most toxic fusion of that, which is 0:21:52.119 --> 0:21:55.720 that like, yeah, I know, like these like you know, 0:21:55.840 --> 0:21:59.720 instead of like you know, recognizing the enormous amount of 0:21:59.760 --> 0:22:02.320 work that that's going into all like this going into 0:22:02.359 --> 0:22:05.040 into teaching, like the amount of sort of like the 0:22:05.119 --> 0:22:07.080 care and love that's going into the creativity. It's going 0:22:07.080 --> 0:22:11.359 into it. And just like the people people's willing to, 0:22:11.440 --> 0:22:14.480 like you're willing listen to make like enormous sacrifices to 0:22:14.560 --> 0:22:16.080 try to keep these kids safe, they're just like no, 0:22:16.440 --> 0:22:18.200