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Teachers don’t have a choice in this mess. Let’s act like they matter.

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ColumnistTeachers don’t have a choice in this mess. Let’s act like they matter.Stephanie Hayes | The classroom is a calling, and it's tougher than anyone knows.Each year, there is the “Great American Teach-In.” Perhaps you are familiar with this event. People from various careers come to classrooms to talk about their jobs. It is always perilous to follow, like, a helicopter pilot with drug-sniffing dogs when your best trick is, “Here is a cool reporter’s notebook and a fun-size Hershey’s.”In any event, speaking to students for even an hour feels like being beaten with a lacrosse stick. Why? Because teaching is very hard, and those of us who don’t work in schools have no earthly idea.Do you have kids? Cool. Now imagine 30 at once. Make sure to keep them quiet but engaged. Teach them to reduce fractions but watch out for behavioral problems. Be someone they can joke with, but someone they respect. Know what to do when they have a bathroom accident, when they fight, when they smell funny, when they destroy a book, when they can’t or won’t learn.As Florida’s leadership with COVID-19 cases and deaths higher than ever, some parents have a choice. If we are privileged enough to stay home with kids, we can keep them out of the building for now.You know who doesn’t have a choice? Teachers.We already ask them to buy their own supplies. We ask them to stand between our children and bullets. Now we are asking them to contend with a lethal virus.My mom is a lifelong educator in Ohio and Florida, now retired. She still does online tutoring. Virtual teachers have a whole different skill set, she said. How can teachers be expected to do both? And disinfect things? And watch out for their own safety? And attend to the emotional needs of their students?I grew up in the back of her high school classrooms, watching her grade papers. I heard sweet, funny stories. There was the kid who stopped by on the way to a job interview with a chain running from his nose to his ear (hey, it was the ’80s).Then, there was the student who threw a desk across the room multiple times. The three different girls in one year who reported sexual abuse. The boy who asked her to help him get into drug rehab.She’s watched heartbroken as teachers adjust to even darker routines, holding active shooter drills as one school after the next falls victim to gun violence. And now this.“What those teachers have to do now, between the usual drama that the kids bring in and the fact that we are in danger… honestly, I gave up on how they treated teachers after Sandy Hook,” she said. “It’s all part of the same game. It’s just a different death sentence.”In a normal year, teachers might be happy with Kleenex, a Pepperidge Farm gift basket or one of those purses with a plastic bladder that holds an entire bottle of wine. But we have to do better.Gov. Ron DeSantis, a move that’s not without criticism because of who it excludes. It still represents a bridge to greater respect. Now, state leaders should send a message that it is not acceptable for educators, administrators and school employees to get sick or die as a result of doing their jobs.Subscribe to our free Stephinitely newsletterColumnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday.Loading...Want more of our free, weekly newsletters&nbsp;in&nbsp;your&nbsp;inbox? Let’s&nbsp;get&nbsp;started.Teachers will keep on being teachers, though. Not because of the money or perks (ha). Because it’s a calling. Because they care about our children. And because for many kids, school is the only safe place in their lives.“They’re still going to give that kid a hug if they have to,” my mom said. “Because that’s what they have to do.”• • •HOW CORONAVIRUS IS SPREADING IN FLORIDA: LATEST ON CORONAVIRUS: MASK UPDATE: FILING TAXES?: GET THE DAYSTARTER MORNING UPDATE: .THE CORONAVIRUS SCRAPBOOK: HAVE A TIP?: We’re working hard to bring you the latest news on the coronavirus in Florida. This effort takes a lot of resources to gather and update. If you haven’t already subscribed,This site no longer supports your current browser. Please use a modern and up-to-date browser version for the best experience. — — —

ColumnistTeachers don’t have a choice in this mess. Let’s act like they matter.Stephanie Hayes | The classroom is a calling, and it's tougher than anyone knows.Each year, there is the “Great American Teach-In.” Perhaps you are familiar with this event. People from various careers come to classrooms to talk about their jobs. It is always perilous to follow, like, a helicopter pilot with drug-sniffing dogs when your best trick is, “Here is a cool reporter’s notebook and a fun-size Hershey’s.”In any event, speaking to students for even an hour feels like being beaten with a lacrosse stick....

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Stephanie Hayes

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Teachers don’t have a choice in this mess. Let’s act like they matter.

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