10.
“After the spring of 2020, I had students who (parroting their parents, in many cases) refused to wear masks, claimed Covid wasn’t real, claimed that the 2020 election was ‘stolen’ from Trump, heavily supported the January 6th uprising, and more. I teach teenagers, and I also saw a rise in boys quoting Andrew Tate and defending police brutality. It was like entering some Twilight Zone/Black Mirror dimension. It didn’t help that some administrators fully agreed and thought the solutions should involve arming teachers or not punishing students who refused COVID regulations. I went to the administration twice about the fact that with the number of students in my room, we couldn’t safely distance, and was told ‘not to worry about it.’ Oh, and I had parents who were positive that school shootings were fake, à la Alex Jones.”
“Parents who had been previously admonished or ignored for paranoid behavior and mistreatment of teachers were suddenly being listened to as having valid complaints. It was so incredibly infuriating. I taught at a private school at the time, which for folks who don’t know, means no union. You can be fired for literally anything and sued if you speak publicly about any details.
I want to say that the vast majority of my students were lovely and many, many parents are kind and so grateful that you care about their kids. Truly the bad situations are the vast minority, at least in my experience! But, that can be a powerful minority if listened to by administrators and general society. I switched schools (I was going to lose my job anyway) and am happier now, but damn, it’s a tough job, even if you love it and see it as a calling.”
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