A stunning message from the front lines I should say. Whatever choice Mr. Gregorich makes, he will lose. As an educator, I’m so sorry he is being put in this untenable position. He wrote, “The Governor has told us we have to open our schools to students on Aug. 17th, or else miss out on 5% of our funding. However, the incompetent United States government is holding a gun to the heads of school faculty, students, and all their families countrywide.
 |
| Jeff Gregorich. (Photo copperarea.com) |
Washington Post:
I dream about going back to normal. I’d love to be open. These kids are hurting right now. I don’t need a politician to tell me that. We only have 300 students in this district, and they’re like family. My wife is a teacher here, and we had four kids go through these schools. I know whose parents are laid off from the copper mine and who doesn’t have enough to eat. We delivered breakfast and lunches this summer, and we gave out more meals each day than we have students. I get phone calls from families dealing with poverty issues, depression, loneliness, boredom. Some of these kids are out in the wilderness right now, and school is the best place for them. We all agree on that. But every time I start to play out what that looks like on August 17th, I get sick to my stomach. More than a quarter of our students live with grandparents. These kids could very easily catch this virus, spread it and bring it back home. It’s not safe. There’s no way it can be safe.
If you think anything else, I’m sorry, but it’s a fantasy. Kids will get sick, or worse. Family members will die. Teachers will die.
Interested in breaking the WaPo paywall? Click here to read the whole article.
0 Comments