33.
And finally, “The pandemic shined a light on how broken the system really was. Teachers were absolutely jumping through flaming hoops during remote learning, trying to teach in a completely new environment while managing student emotions and struggles during a terrifying time. We were seen as heroes that spring. But come fall, when parents and communities were at their breaking points, teachers were suddenly the villain. Suddenly we were ‘lazy’ and ‘needed to go back to work.’ The emotional whiplash was real.”
“When we came back to in-person learning, we had a real chance to make a difference for the kids. But instead, we glossed over the global trauma, pushed the kids to get back to meeting academic standards, and didn’t give teachers the room to teach in a way that would actually help the kids fill their learning gaps. All the while, more was added to teachers’ plates while taking nothing away. With all of this unaddressed trauma among the students, behavior problems have soared, and teachers are still being pressured to meet academic standards. The pressure, workload, and student trauma has been too much to handle. I had a mental breakdown after coming back from winter break in January 2022. I resigned the following week. My life has taken a total 180 since then, and it’s been incredible. I’m happy for the change to my life, but am scared for the future of this country.”
—Anonymous
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