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I HAVE BEEN hearing negative comments about teachers for the past few months. I am a teacher who works in a primary school. I was on maternity leave last year when Covid ‘hit’, so as my colleagues struggled to prepare for distance learning, I was knee-deep in bottles and hugging my baby tightly while listening to the news every night.
When I returned to work in September, I, like all my colleagues, was worried and scared about what to expect. With a small baby at home, I was concerned but I believed the experts and I trusted the public health team and put on a smile (behind a mask) to welcome our children back to school.
Going back to school was not easy. I was assigned supervisory duties in the morning, which meant being at the door before classes started and only allowing parents and children to enter the allotted time.
Very often parents would arrive early and weren’t too happy to wait outside the school gate. The mornings when it rained were the worst, of course, with people losing patience very quickly.
The new narrative
Parents were stressed, people were worried. I was afraid to go to work, but not because of the fear of COVID transmission, but because of the morning supervision and the endless looks of disgust on parents’ faces as we tried to protect the school community and keep the children safe.
After a few weeks, when the routine was in place, everything calmed down and the mornings began to run smoothly. People started waving again and waving as they passed.
The children were delighted to be back at school and we all got down to business and adjusted to the new norm. Of course, we were still very concerned about the prospect of a Covid outbreak, but it seemed like anxiety levels were dropping.
This welcome change in atmosphere was short-lived. As soon as the ASTI union voted in favor of industrial action, the reaction from social media reached an all-time high. While listening to the radio in the morning to go to work, I was criticized for the discussions and debates against the teachers. One morning I cried on my 40 minute drive, just exhausted from everything.
Any concerns raised by teachers regarding Covid were ignored, as the media understandably feared for the well-being of their own children.
A change of tone
I believe that the welfare of teachers has been largely ignored in the pursuit of the greater good. Our mental health is being damaged daily by the barrage of abuse on social media when they put on a brave face and head to the front. Instead of cheers and applause, we are receiving taunts from the public.
TUI’s suggestion that schools close early for Christmas filled me with dread.
I knew what to expect on my ride home that day, so I turned off the radio. I had a dental appointment that night and he had the radio on in the background. Of course, they were carefully discussing the TUI suggestion.
As he lay in the chair, the dentist said, “I’d love an early Christmas too, right?” Automatically assuming I’d agree with anti-teacher rhetoric, I guess. I laughed a little (as much as I could with my mouth open) enough for him to realize that I was a teacher.
When I left his office that night, he called me “I hope you have your first Christmas break.” He, like many others, assumed that I would be in favor of an early closure, but I don’t think schools should close early.
I understand and agree with the parents who care about the care of the children during those two days. I think closing early would ultimately lower staff morale because of the public reaction. Personally, I’d rather work for a day and a half than deal with negative comments.
Teachers are not teachers unions
Just hearing the comments about that program showed me the low opinion that some citizens have of teachers. This was not something requested by the teachers in the field, however we are accepting the criticism.
It is being used as one more excuse to attack our characters. We live under this constant cloud of fear. Like everyone else, Covid-19 is a huge concern. We fear for our family, our vulnerable colleagues, our students, but we also fear that people have some reason to belittle and attack our profession.
We would like to be respected and our concerns addressed, without the constant fear of public reaction.
Every night as I prepare for work, I think about my students and how they have adapted so well to what is such a changed classroom environment. I think about how teaching has changed over the past nine months and how far we’ve come since March.
No news is bad news
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I think of all the school staff and the effort that has gone into keeping schools open. I am proud of the efforts that schools across the country make every day. I am proud to be a teacher.
When I go to bed like everyone else, I dream of my Christmas holidays; I dream of being able to return to my home county to celebrate with a family I have not seen in months. I remind myself that it’s okay to feel overwhelmed and ‘it’s okay to not be okay’ because these are tough times after all.
Remember to be nice. Teachers are struggling too.
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