Getty Kids wearing masks, play at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza on July 21, 2020, in Dallas, Texas.
Thousands of teachers in Texas have grave concerns about reopening schools for in-person classes in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. A number of teachers shared their worries with Heavy. One teacher informally surveyed more than 7,000 teachers in the state, learning that many had high-risk conditions and most preferred virtual teaching over in-person classes.
Exactly what’s happening in Texas schools varies from district to district and from city to city. In Tarrant County, for example, public and non-religious schools will host the first six weeks of classes online, until September 28, CBS DFW reported. In Travis County, in-person classes are barred until September 7, Statesman reported. For Nueces County, on-campus classes are delayed until after Labor Day, KRIS-TV reported. The Texas Education Agency (TEA), meanwhile, has asked all schools to offer in-person instruction for students who don’t have reliable Internet, KVUE reported.
In general, the TEA has said that school districts can limit in-person classes for the first month of school, KSAT reported. Extending beyond that requires a board waiver request approved by the TEA.
With so many unknowns, many Texas teachers feel uncomfortable reopening for in-person classes, and they expressed their concerns to Heavy. Some now have more time to prepare, but it’s not clear what things will look like in a few weeks’ time. Here’s what Texas teachers told Heavy.
More than 5,000 Teachers Said They Prefer Virtual Teaching, & More than 7,000 Feared Reopening
Alex Goldberg, a music teacher in North Texas, told Heavy that she informally surveyed more than 7,000 Texas teachers about their feelings on COVID-19 and reopening the schools for in-person teaching. She shared the results with Heavy, which you can view in the screenshots below. The informal survey was taken from July 11-15. It was not a scientific survey, but teachers were able to remain anonymous when they replied.
Goldberg told Heavy about the survey: “I’m just surprised by the number of teachers who are concerned about opening. I would have never guessed because most stay quiet in fear of losing their jobs. Since this survey was anonymous, many teachers must’ve felt more comfortable with sharing their real opinion.”
When asked if teachers would choose virtual teaching if given a choice, 75% (5,594 out of 7,463 responses) said yes. Only 6.8% wanted to go back to 100% face-to-face teaching.
Goldberg
Almost 95% of teachers said they felt that their lives would be endangered if schools reopened.
Goldberg
Nearly 95% who responded said they feared for the lives of their students and colleagues too.
Goldberg
Almost half of the teachers who responded to the survey said they were high-risk.
Goldberg
And more than half said they lived with someone who would be considered high-risk.
Goldberg
In fact, 5,902 teachers said that if schools reopened for in-person teaching, they would not be able to visit some of their loved ones anymore because of the risks.
Goldberg
Texas Teacher Tells Heavy: ‘I Have Spent Hours After Everyone Is Asleep Crying’
Bonnie Williams, who works in a North Texas district teaching science, shared her concerns with Heavy about the reopening. She said that as both a mother and an educator, she felt that a lot of the efforts in the spring were futile. Teachers, students, and parents were all frustrated. She hoped that over the summer, campuses would come back with a better plan.
“But guess what? It didn’t happen,” she said. “We wasted an entire summer of teachers, like myself, building new curriculum, attending virtual PD’s, and trying to plan our own rooms for possible on-line education…only to be met with silence and in some cases actual opposition towards any online planning. The short-sightedness of it all boggles my mind.”
She said the idea of catching the virus or getting lasting effects from it scares her.
“I am frustrated and quite honestly scared,” Williams told Heavy. “I have spent hours after everyone is asleep crying and praying that the good Lord finds it in his heart to keep me healthy and safe so I can live through this school year and not have my children lose a parent! … What happens if I don’t die, but instead endure the lasting effects of this virus and I am on disability for the rest of my life…”
She added that she’s responsible for providing her own PPE, but students may not be required to wear masks.
“I have to provide my own PPE, students are strongly encouraged to wear masks, but not mandated,” she said. “…I have no choice but to have my kids go into a situation of exposure and bring it home. I love teaching, it is my passion. I don’t want to hate my job, but this is causing me to look at the corporate sector for jobs that showcase my talents. When I have to meet to write a will … I am concerned we are looking at everything in the wrong light.”
She said her preference — shutting down and teaching schools online — wouldn’t be a perfect solution. If the curve dropped, she’d then suggest slowly reopening and having classes mostly online, with maybe one or two days of in-person learning or a rotating A/B schedule. But the plan right now, she said, is just leaving her scared.
Other Teachers Shared Their Views, But Asked for Their Names to be Withheld
A number of other Texas teachers shared their views with Heavy, but asked that their names not be shared.
A high school teacher in Houston said they were scared about in-person reopening.
“I am scared to death to go back, I have an underlying condition but have bills to pay,” they said. “I live in a Texas area that is a hot spot, Houston… I am positive that we cannot keep the virus from spreading. Every flu season a student comes with fever because the parent has to work. Imagine if that child has the virus…”
They said they knew of two teachers in February who thought they might have had mild forms of the virus, and they knew of a student who was out for two weeks in March without being tested.
“The student had mild symptoms before being absent and may have exposed many students and staff,” the teacher told Heavy. “These examples happen all the time…”
A middle school teacher from Texas spoke with Heavy about her concerns, saying social distancing simply would not be possible in underfunded schools.
I live in a school district that is taking this seriously, and I feel more comfortable here than most teachers do in their school districts, but I am still worried. I have over 200 kids a day I see on average with 30 being in one class. Last year I didn’t even have enough seats. If even half of those students come back there will be no way to social distance.
Schools are underfunded and under staffed for the most part. There is no safe way to teach 15-30 kids and keep your distance. I know people say students do not catch it as easily, but it has also been proven to live on surfaces… If you send students back now, the virus will spread because kids will be kids as they should be. And there will be some who will be so worried about all the regulations they will not be able to focus.
She said that having taught grades from kindergarten to 12th, she knows that students of all ages will struggle with the restrictions. She said six-year-olds will have trouble learning, while middle schoolers will have seen TikTok videos saying COVID isn’t real and may cough on each other without concern. It just won’t be possible to monitor everyone, she said.
Kids need to be in school … but this is a problem a bunch of adults caused and it is not up to kids to have to face it and endanger them. I do not want to bury any of my students, coworkers, kids’ family members, or my family members because we went to school when we should not have…
I miss my classroom. I have an Amazon cart full of over 500 dollars in supplies I give my students every year to help them and make sure they have what they need. I want to be back but not like this…
Now is the time for adults to listen to each other to come up with a solution. A solution where every student gets their needs met and are provided for while continuing to be safe, so soon the kids can return like normal without temperature checks and masks and rules. The solutions are out there and it is not a solution found in politics… It is found by asking those professionals who give more than anyone will know how to accomplish this task, and it is found with compromise. Teachers have ideas, please listen.
A high school English teacher told Heavy that they have a “nagging pit” in their stomach from how disorganized Texas has been with school regulations. They said teachers are being required to teach more classes (both online and in-person) without extra funding, and they are concerned that TEA isn’t doing all it can to help prepare for the new school year. While their school district is handling things well, they worry about others that aren’t.
Stress levels are already at an all-time high amidst the pandemic, and yet now we are being called to monitor crowded classrooms of over 20 children and ensure that the said kids wear masks. … I worry for how mask regulations will be monitored alongside how many parents are going to send their children to school with fevers… As long as there are no regulations that press for specific classroom limits, all I can see is hypocricy as the governor places limits on places where we eat while overcrowded schools continue to be overcrowded…
Crowded schools will spread the illness further, if not to the students, then to the teachers. If teachers gain the illness, then education will be left to busy work with substitutes. And yet people say we should ‘just quit’ if we don’t want this reality… They expect us to quit while claiming they want the best for their children? I want people to (hear) our voices, legitimately respond to these arguments, and stop applying this twisted double standard that gambles children’s lives and risks a multitude of students’ falling behind others’ learning experience due to the disorganization. I want for TEA to actually try to help us and stop sharing their articles about handling stress during COVID as though they know what we are going through. They are a committee that made decisions for a whole without listening to the said group’s voices, and I’m left questioning how much of this is true concern and how much is for political differences.
This isn’t a case of politics. It is a case of learning and safety.
However, the teacher told Heavy that they are thankful because their own district is doing all it can to keep students and teachers safe. Their school is helping manage hours so teachers don’t get overworked, providing face coverings for teachers, and providing training to help teachers prepare.
“It provides a lot of relief,” they told Heavy. “I know I’m lucky to have such a caring district that worries for its teachers as much as students.”
Teachers Are Asking People to Please Stop Bashing Them Online, But Instead, Listen to Them
Teachers told Heavy that they were tired of hearing others bash them on social media for being worried.
One teacher told Heavy:
I have seen so many adults bashing teachers, calling them everything from communists to lazy. I urge people to not do this… What message does it send to children? It sends the message that their teachers do not care and that is not the case… Teachers are being told they are lazy and ridiculous for not wanting to stop educating students, but to change the way it looks temporarily… How many of those yelling that teachers are awful are … actually listening to teachers? Teachers teach because of children. It is why we are here, and now we are scared for ourselves, families and our students.”
She said it’s a terribly hard balancing act for teachers. One student may have a terrible home life and need to be in school while his family won’t send him, while another has health problems that could put his life in danger but he can’t stay home.
Right now a teacher is drawing diagram after diagram of how to distance 30 desks in a small classroom with no windows. That same teacher has spent all summer planning lessons and learning how to do online school in case it was needed…
Right now there is a teacher who is doing budgeting to see if she can quit because her husband has cancer and she cannot risk him getting sick by something she brings home. That same teacher has piles of games and tools to help children in her garage she was hoping to use…
Right now there is a mother who is having to send her infant daughter away to live with others in order to protect her. That same teacher is going to go to work, but knows that it will mean not seeing her infant till it is safe…
All these teachers are thinking of students, but also their families. Do not call a teacher lazy because she/he is scared. Do not tell a teacher how to feel unless you are in the classroom with the teacher… Do listen.”
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