From a post last week: Where are the masks? Where are the real ones, the ones that are documented to work — not the cute, handsewn ones with American flags and butterflies? Where are the wipes for the classrooms? Those shortages were entirely understandable in March and April, but we are now closing in on August. 

Meanwhile, the PPE crisis is back in the news. I was struck by one sobering moment while listening to a CNN broadcast. Apparently some hospitals are “stockpiling” PPE equipment. Readers, stockpiling is a less-loaded synonym for hoarding — a nicer way of saying “we don’t know if we will be able to get supplies later, so we have stashed everything we can lay our hands on in the basement.” Only recently, I remember friends trying to find toilet paper because so many people had ‘stockpiled’ rolls. Neighborhood apps were filled with helpful sightings of Charmin, hand sanitizer, and other helpful items. 

It’s almost August now: Where are the wipes? Of more concern, where are the REAL masks? How can it be that there is still not an N-95 in sight, outside of a hospital? 

WHY ARE TEACHERS IN SOME AREAS AFRAID TO ENTER THE CLASSROOM? 

LET’S START WITH THE REAL PPE CRISIS IN A TIME WHEN THE CDC RECOMMENDS MASKS FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. 

A teacher shared social media advice from a nurse friend recently. The nurse had recommended she obtain five N-95 masks for the school year and label them — M, T, W, Th, F. Then let each mask sit one week between uses to allow any attached germs to die from germ old age. That might be a fine plan — except for the part where she has to somehow find N-95 masks. 

The Washington Post’s July 8th headline: “America is running short on masks, gowns and gloves. Again.” A snippet from the article: “Nurses say they are reusing N95 masks for days and even weeks at a time. Doctors say they can’t reopen offices because they lack personal protective equipment. State officials say they have scoured U.S. and international suppliers for PPE and struggle to get orders filled.” Meanwhile, the White House says PPE supplies are “adequate in most states.” Adequate in most states? What will that mean for school needs? 

Even now, in hard hit areas, health professionals are locked in absurd battles to lay their hands on equipment they require to do their jobs properly. Governor Jay Inslee of Washington state described the situation as “akin to fighting a war in which each state is responsible for procuring its own weapons and body armor.” States are still competing with each other to find PPE supplies. In the absence of leadership and a coordinated response by the federal government, those supplies are not always available, while prices have been skyrocketing. 

What will happen to the teachers who need those supplies? Doctors and dentists are looking for those better supplies, along with prisons, nursing homes, and other group care facilities. Traditional users of masks, such as construction and other factory workers, also want real masks, the masks that keep out toxic dust. 

Yet within a month or two, millions of new users are scheduled to enter the market. According the the U.S. government, about 56.6 million students attended pre-K, elementary, middle and high school in the U.S. in 2019.  They were taught by 3.7 million teachers. I ask readers to pause to think about those numbers. Let’s say we could do it right — which we can’t — we need, oh, about 60,000,000 masks for this group TO START.

Obviously we will be starting in different versions of butterfly masks and blue doctor’s offices masks. We have no choice. Those cute butterfly or Marvel superhero masks are not useless, but they certainly are not medical protective gear. They are better-than-useless-anyway-and-hopefully-good-enough protective gear. 

Will education systems even try to enter the REAL market? I doubt they can afford to do so. Let me throw in another headline, this one from Newsweek: “Supplier Charging $7 Per Face Mask That Typically Costs 58 Cents, Hospital CEO Says.” Some sources are charging more than $7 apiece for those N-95 masks. For the vast majority of teachers, I would say the N-95 has to be taken off the table. School districts don’t have that kind of money for a commodity that has to be replaced regularly. I’m not sure who does. 

WHY ARE TEACHERS AFRAID TO ENTER THE CLASSROOM? 

ASIDE FROM THE LACK OF PPE EQUIPMENT, CLASSROOM DEEP CLEANING MAY ALSO LOOK OVERWHELMING TO MANY TEACHERS. 

The absence of wipes for everyday consumers has to be spooking many teachers. How did I clean my classroom? At least one common technique involves walking around the classroom and passing out Clorox, Lysol or other wipes. But if there are any wipes in the greater suburban Chicago area, I have been unable to find them.

Yes, wipes can’t be considered essential. I can go through my room with a bottle of “This-Kills-Germs-Somehow,” passing out paper towels. I can’t do this with little kids, but older students should be able to help me. Otherwise I will be using lots of bottles of “This-Kills-Germs-Somehow” on my own in a classroom that may or may not have decent ventilation. 

Because I know down in my bones that the custodial staff will not be rescuing me regularly. Yes, I am sure they will do an expanded night cleaning. But I doubt most districts can afford to expand the custodial staff beyond maybe one or two extra people at most. Those who hire out for cleaning probably don’t have funds to greatly increase their cleaning costs — and may be hit for higher costs regardless, depending on their contract. 

These custodians doing the night cleanings are the same people who have been dumping the wastebaskets nightly but changing the trashbag once a week, the same people who sweep five days and mop once a week. I don’t want this to be construed as criticism. Our custodians work hard. A single day of school can create a breathtaking mess in some classrooms, common areas and cafeterias. But teachers looking at guidelines are clear — classroom cleaning is about to begin sucking up extra hours each week, with or without the help of students in the classroom. 

Nursing homes, stores and other special needs facilities are managing to lay their hands on wipes. I am betting schools will too. But teachers looking into the empty gaps where those wipes used to sit cannot be blamed for feeling nervous. The usual snot on elementary school desks may feel like a biohazard in 2020. 

Eduhonesty: Teachers and others are being asked to take a great deal on faith: 1) Faith that essential supplies will be available, including adequate sanitizer and barriers in classrooms and bathrooms; 2) Faith that rigorous night cleanings will be possible and will happen; 3) Faith that cute butterfly masks will work since the real stuff remains unavailable and 60,000,000 NEW PEOPLE MAY POTENTIALLY ENTER THE MARKET when America’s school doors are actually thrown open. 

I suppose we could say that 3.7 million people are entering the PPE market, since the kids will probably be OK with little unicorn, Ironman or blue doctor’s office masks. But 3,700,000 or 30,000,000 or 60,000,000 — that’s a gigantic increase in demand for personal protective equipment given that we can’t meet demand now. I am leaving that 60,000,000 number out there for now, too. How much protection will teachers and students actually require to make the next school year work? No one knows. 

The administration currently telling us kids hardly get sick is the same administration that told us COVID-19 might be gone by April, operating under the same leader who finally admitted in JULY that masks just might be a good idea. That administration is hoping that not too many kids will get sick. Well, we’ve seem a lot of hope in Washington D.C. get dashed on the rocks of reality. 

I wonder if the 2020 administration has given any serious consideration to the impact on the PPE market of all those teachers, paraprofessionals, principals, assistant principals, deans, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, school nurses, school librarians, office workers and custodians? My millions above left out many people — all the nonteachers in a school who work together to help educate America’s children. I won’t belabor the well-covered issue of children losing, not using, chewing and abusing masks that then have to be replaced. 

A quote from Stephen Covey: “Stop setting goals. Goals are pure fantasy unless you have a specific plan to achieve them.” Is there a plan? A better plan than an unworkable set of CDC guidelines? Because whether those guidelines can be made to function or not — and some school districts have much more money to throw at the problem than others — any plan that depends on PPE and deep cleaning is already in deep trouble.

So this appears to be the current status: If you open schools and go live, then you get federal money. If you decide in favor of online schooling, then you don’t get federal money. The areas with little or no COVID will get help. The areas under microbial attack, who could unquestionably use funds to get ready for opening later and for supporting distance learning — which heavily favors wealthy districts already — get no help.

What part of this makes sense? Does it make any sense?

I understand what is happening here. Money is being used to pressure school districts into doing what the Federal government* wants. That money has not stopped many areas from backing away from on-site instruction. San Diego and LA plan to start online. Texas has postponed in-person attendance until at least November now that the state has clocked over 300,000 coronavirus cases. The Florida Education Association has filed a lawsuit against Governor Ron DeSantis and Department of Education to stop schools from reopening at the end of August. Other districts across the nation are backing away from reopening their hallways next month.

Members of the federal government keep telling us that children don’t get sick or they don’t get as sick. None of these officials discusses the fact that children leave school every day and go home to their families. Can adults get COVID from kids? Of course they can. They can also get it from teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, office staff, custodians, bus drivers, nurses, librarians and cafeteria workers. And high school kids are not exactly little children. Their COVID experiences tend to be demonstrably rougher than those of elementary age children. One critical concern: A July 21, 2020 article in WebMD says that “children and teens between ages 10-19 are more likely to spread the coronavirus among family members than adults and children under 10, according to a new study in South Korea.”

But I don’t want to bog down in the facts, especially since the current administration seems hell bent on ignoring those facts — at least when they prove inconvenient. I want to keep this post short: In short, those who most need help will get little or no help, at least not from the current administration.

Eduhonesty: I am actually rather fascinated by the fact that the administration seems surprised that a highly infectious, mostly respiratory illness is somehow spreading in direct response to open bars, beaches, campaign rallies, and large holiday gatherings. How could such a thing happen? At the moment, we are losing. Our caseload is approaching 4,000,000.

On the plus side, the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams just a few hours ago said the country needs to lower the COVID-19 transmission rate before reopening schools. Perhaps the President will now back down on his demands. After all these months, he has at last finally put on a mask.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, a city of 7.4 million people which is currently considered a special administrative region of China, the COVID death toll today stands at 14 people. In this area which masked up immediately in response to the COVID threat, they are having a little trouble. Cases are up there as cases are up in much of the world. But that death toll serves to remind us that there is a way to do this right.

Science is real. Social distancing and masks help slow the spread of infectious diseases. Not throwing a bunch of kids into close proximity when a disease is exploding… that just might be a MUCH better plan than sending everyone to school willy-nilly, regardless of where they live — especially since the masks that are documented to work effectively remain in short supply. Wipes are impossible to find where I live. The PPE crisis has only partially abated.

I am not sure that the title for my post is accurate. Are we making up facts or simply ignoring facts? Let start with the obvious: Children go home at night. Those children spend the school day constantly coming in contact with adults. This disease can be spread by people who do not have a fever — yet or ever –and current data suggests that on average, every person who gets sick will infect 1.7 new people.

We are a long ways from out of the woods yet.

*i.e. the Trump Administration and Betsy DeVos

P.S. If you live in a safe enough area and can go back to school soon, have a great year! I know these news reports must seem absolutely freakish to some people in small, rural mountain towns or distant prairie farming areas..

(https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/07/13/covid-schools-reopening-lausd-san-diego-online-classes/5429995002/, https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-schools-may-be-online-only-november-hybrid-model-2020-7, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-florida-teachers-sue-governor-desantis-school-reopening-plans/, https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200720/teens-tweens-more-likely-to-spread-covid-19?ecd=wnl_spr_072120&ctr=wnl-spr-072120_nsl-Bodymodule_Position4&mb=UT0EfRiJlerLe8Nl%2f6BrJGdEpmNqbUHLZTN%2fwNIxCow%3d, https://www.britannica.com/place/Hong-Kong ,https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/covid-19-hong-kong-new-cases-deaths-locally-transmitted-12950280 , https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/tunedin/us-surgeon-general-jerome-adams-on-reopening-schools-funding-for-coronavirus-testing/vi-BB170kRg

Regarding the sometimes still problematic lack of PPE across this country: Where are the masks? Where are the real ones, the ones that are documented to work — not the cute, handsewn ones with American flags and butterflies? Where are the wipes for the classrooms? Those shortages were entirely understandable in March and April, but we are now closing in on August. Those empty store shelves are getting harder and harder to believe and to understand.

Stick with me through these personal details. They lead directly to your classroom next year.

My husband broke his neck in a diving accident when he was seventeen. He’s charming, witty, has a couple of masters degrees, including an MBA from the University of Chicago, and he has managed the slow decline of age with determination. He is a living embodiment of the word grit. He talks too much about politics, but nobody’s perfect.

We’re at retirement age now. He requires help with his daily routines. We’ve been paying over $400 each month for a morning shot that we hope is helping his bone density. On Monday, I will take a wheelchair tire out to be fixed. The wheel’s no big problem. We have a few back-up wheelchairs. They accumulate over time. It can be harder to give away an old wheelchair than readers might expect, and each keeper has a function. One fits in the bathroom easily. Another relieves pressure on a certain area of his back. The new one makes trying to come to a stand easiest.

But this morning, as I was talking to my husband and putting on his support stockings, I realized I had neglected to write a vital post. We are so preoccupied right now with details and dangers of COVID-19 that issues of wages and salary have fallen off the table. I intend to put them back on the table right now.

I will not be subbing next year. I have subbed since I retired and I am a good sub. I follow the lesson plan. I teach the topic and often I can add fun details to the material I am given. I am certified to teach Spanish, French, general science for middle school, English for high school, business, social science, bilingual and ESL classes, not to mention my original teaching choice, high school mathematics. I did love school. I still do.

But here’s a fact that should be out front and center right now: In some districts, I make less as a substitute teacher than I would as a home health care worker. In others, it’s a wash. Between my spouse and my parents, I know a few home health care workers well. They are making about $14 – $17 per hour. If I sub for a half day, I make $50 to $62.50. Let’s say my commitment is from 8 AM to 12 PM which is pretty typical. That breaks down to $12.50 – $15.63 per hour. Subs typically do not receive benefits.

I would have to be out of my mind to work in a school next year.

Financially, subbing never made much sense. I could work a full day which would about pay for three hours of a home health care worker hired out of an agency. Local agencies get a little over $30 per hour, of which the health care aide typically is lucky to receive half. So I was working to pay for a likable, sturdy woman to help my husband into the shower and onto his exercise machine, among other tasks. The dishes got done. I had an enjoyable day with kids.

But the risk/reward profile of substitute teaching has changed dramatically.

I am older and in a couple of risk groups. Many subs are older. A substantial portion of the nation’s substitute teacher pool consists of men and women who are retired and take pleasure in interacting with kids in the classroom. It’s not about the pay. Teaching can be fun, and subs don’t have to spend the evening putting in grades. Subs also benefit from scheduling flexibility. They can work a half day or a full day, and can pick the classrooms they wish to occupy.

Only now subbing will be a high-risk job with subterranean pay and no benefits. I have always known that Starbucks would be at least as lucrative as subbing, and might include health and other benefits if I put in enough work hours, not to mention the perk of free coffee. Add in those benefits and suddenly Starbucks pays considerably better than substitute teaching. I simply did not want to be tied to a schedule prepared by someone else.

Starbucks would be SAFER now, though. I don’t plan to become a barista. I don’t need to work. If I did, I suspect I would fill out that Starbucks application. Or another application elsewhere. Because almost any job that does not involve standing on a line inspecting potatoes or cleaning meat would be safer than on-site teaching in parts of Texas or Florida right now. Driving for Amazon would allow me to make as much money and would probably be safer. Even making pizza and/or doing contactless delivery for Dominos Pizza might pay as much and would be safer. With tips, that pizza delivery might well pay better.

The problem of redeployment is about to change substitutes’ working conditions for the worse, too. That fact alone will shrink the sub pool.

Shortages of substitute teachers have become common is some areas. When that happens, school administrators take the subs they have and jury rig the day’s schedule to get subs to cover as many classes as possible, rescuing regular teachers who will otherwise lose their planning periods to take over for absent colleagues. I may become a missing kindergarten teacher as well as the reading resource teacher who had put me on her preferred substitute list. Under the original schedule, I had a break during that reading teacher’s planning period. Now all breaks have disappeared, as I take over for unknown teachers without subs. I may run into a problem many teachers know too well — oops, my bathroom break is gone! I may also have to work those classes that no sub wants, the ones we warn each other about. Redeployment has always been a risk of subbing, but as the pool shrinks and more teachers decide to stay out when even slightly sick, that risk will likely skyrocket. Regular teacher vacancies will go up, too. A regular teacher who would have gone to school with a low fever — I did more than once — will stay home now. As part of a better-safe-than-sorry strategy, teachers may even opt to stay home with mild new cases of the sniffles, just in case. As redeployment goes up, some of a district’s remaining subs are likely to drop out of the sub pool. The pizza parlor at least has a bathroom.

Eduhonesty: I am done. I am done until the vaccine arrives. I am about to become a retired retiree.

I knew that before this morning, but this morning the thought hit me that led to this post: I would be better off going to work for a home health care agency right now, at least if I stayed out of nursing homes and convalescent centers. I would be better off performing the job of my parents’ home health care aide. The range of jobs in home health care varies considerably, but giving my mom a shower and then doing her hair, helping her dress and making Costco salmon burger sandwiches for my dad does not sound unpleasant. I don’t mind light cleaning and vacuuming. The pay is about the same and I am only exposed to two elderly people who hardly ever leave home. Many part-time options exist.

Is there something wrong with the fact that these wonderful women who sometimes don’t’ even have a high school education are making the same amount of money as a woman with three degrees and useful classroom experience? I’m sure there’s a huge problem there. But it’s not my problem anymore. (Although I reserve the right to blog further about this absurdity.) My problem is what I want to do next year.

Currently, I plan to finish multiple jigsaw puzzles while listening to books or watching TV in the basement. I will also try to market two books on education I finished recently. I will blog and crochet. Maybe I will make a Tik Tok video soon just for fun.

But I won’t be risking those coughs and sneezes in the classroom. I won’t be wiping any little noses or sending older children to the nurse. I am grateful to the administrators who called me to thank me for my past help. I am grateful to the district that has been sending me cake, journals and other little presents. If I can help those districts from my home, I will do so. I would consider virtual subbing.

But I won’t be walking into any schools. Not this year. Not until there’s a vaccine. I am certain I am not alone. My schools are in an area that’s been in the red zone for weeks.

This post is a warning: Are you trying to decide whether to quit or retire? I’d factor this into my decision making process. Teachers in districts that already had sub shortages should prepare to cover for colleagues. Classes may also be broken up and their students dispersed throughout the school. Those extra students in your room will add to your risk, not to mention to the general confusion — and with all the new protocols, confusion will be high.

I believe the demand for substitute teachers is about to go up dramatically at a time when the supply collapses. This may help address the poor wages for substitutes, but those future pay raises won’t help regular teachers during the 2020-2021 school year.

Hugs to all my readers. Jocelyn

P.S. For any nonteacher readers who feel willing and able to enter those rooms of congested kids — and some kids seem to be congested all year long — I expect subbing jobs will be plentiful and administrations will be grateful to meet you. In some areas, the risk will be light. The rewards are many, even if they are not monetary in nature.

That scar on my neck? That was a completely unexpected left carotid endarterectomy that ended my school year early some seven years ago. I’m fine now, but that was one wild raft ride through the rapids, complete with a visit to the ICU. You never know… No matter how healthy you seem or how careful you are, reality can bite at unexpected moments — even on a completely peaceful Sunday morning while composing review questions for final exams.

_________________________________________________________________________

Sticking to my thread from the last post: What is coming at you, teacher? As I read my social media feeds, I find a number of teachers on the fence about retiring or quitting. To go or not to go? “I love my job but…” their posts say. Should I risk it?

I fully understand. Teaching is not a job as much as a calling. That classroom beckons, a huge annual adventure filled with exciting new faces. Walls are being decorated with posters and favorite internet memes even now by eager teachers, hoping for in-class instruction and determined to be ready for the upcoming year.

If you are on the fence about returning this year, though, I want to help. I’m off the fence myself. I’m retired, but if I still had my girls at home, I know I would home school this year. I’m in Cook County, Illinois, however, not far from Chicago. I would feel differently if I lived in a quiet county in Alaska or North Dakota.

Here’s a consideration I’d put in my t-chart if I were deciding whether or not to go back: What is my insurance situation? If you teach, you almost undoubtedly have health insurance. How good is that insurance? If you leave, how will you replace your insurance? Can you use a spouse’s policy? You can COBRA, but COBRA’s price often shocks people. You end up paying for the part your district covered previously. That relatively painless policy may suddenly cost over four figures each month.

One of the perks of teaching used to be superior health care policies. Like government workers, teachers often received top-quality insurance with low deductibles and extensive coverage, low or no co-pay, drug plans that covered almost everything, plus dental insurance and help with glasses. Those policies helped make up for the low salaries starting teachers received.

But that was then. This is now. A few districts still have great insurance. Many others have pretty good insurance with higher deductibles and stiffer copays. Some have mediocre insurance with limited networks and less-favorable coverage. A few are running self-insured or are offering catastrophic plans with those $1,000 deductibles. You may have a choice between a PPO and an HMO. Multitudinous options exist — the good, the bad, the ugly and even the abominable.

And unusual drugs drain the bank fast. Even”usual” drugs can be a strain. Epi-pens currently cost over $600. Insulin — my friend’s daughter makes trips to Canada because that’s the only way she can afford a drug she requires to survive. (One tip: Don’t take a new drug home until you know the cost. Pharmacies may not let you return a drug once it leaves the premises. Sometimes your doctor.can prescribe a more affordable alternative.)

This post is about numbers, nebulous numbers, but numbers that should still be part of any decision-making process. What happens if you actually get sick? Your odds on getting well remain strong — and those odds are improving as doctors get COVID experience — but the process seems to be taking weeks or even months for many people. What drugs will be prescribed? What medical care will you need?

How does your medical plan work? Here’s a sample from the Affordable Care Act plans.

From https://www.insurance.com/health-insurance/health-insurance-basics/how-to-buy-an-individual-health-plan.html:

“Health plans in the Affordable Care Act marketplace are divided into four categories:

• Bronze – Plan pays 60% of your health care costs. You pay 40%.
• Silver – Plan pays 70% of your health care costs. You pay 30%.
• Gold – Plan pays 80% of your health care costs. You pay 20%.
• Platinum – Plan pays 90% of your health care costs. You pay 10%.”

Reader, let me throw in one quick math fact: 30% of $40,000 is $12,000. An overnight stay at a hospital can easily run over $40,000.

So how good is your district’s insurance? How good is your health network? Should you make changes during an upcoming open enrollment period? I moved from a PPO to an HMO some years ago due to PPO costs. The HMO has worked well enough. My primary care physician is caring and helpful. My access to specialists is adequate and often much better than adequate. I am lucky enough to live in a state with seven medical schools, most of them near me. The HMO covers pretty much everything except for co-pays.

If you consider changing plans, do your research. Are HMO customers happy? Why or why not? What doctors are available to you? Go to your calculator app and run some numbers as part of the process. What percentage of your care do you currently cover? How much does that amount to in different scenarios? You have to look carefully at your policy. What about mental health care and rehab expenses? Policies are filled with limits, a few that benefit you and others that do not.

Eduhonesty: Now I have to pass this question on to readers. How will you manage insurance if you quit your position? Can you use spousal insurance? If you are just out of school, could your parent(s) pick you up? Do you want to stay where you are? Do you want to change insurance?

You definitely should have insurance right now. You may or may not want to be in a classroom. Here’s one wild card in the deck: As people quit, vacancies will open up. Do you want to try to switch to the better-funded district this year? The district with excellent insurance and an actual budget for supplies? The district that may actually be able to implement most of the CDC guidelines because that district has enough money to do so?

I recognize this post has not provided the Great Solution to any problem. I’ve raised more issues than I’ve solved. News articles seem to be outlining risks right now and emphasizing the possible dangers of going into the classroom. On the backside of those stories will be the teachers and students who do get ill. Many teachers will become ill if we reopen without regard to local conditions. We are in the middle of July with the coronavirus nowhere near under control. .

So today’s advice: Look at your insurance plan. Can you do better? How could you do better? How should you factor this into your possible plan to quit or retire? Health trumps finances obviously, but any plan you make demands some type of health coverage.

Hugs to my readers.

P.S. I’ll throw in one more item for your t-chart: What does your district plan to do if you have to quarantine during the year?

Some districts are expecting teachers to use sick days if they have to quarantine for COVID. You will use your sick days whether you are sick or not. That’s appalling. It may potentially be a much bigger loss than some teachers understand yet, especially if teachers are home for multiple periods of quarantine. My retirement check was boosted by my unused sick days. In Illinois and other places, if you don’t use those sick days, they add on to the total days used to calculate your pension. Every month I am rewarded for the fact I almost never stayed out sick.

As far as that quarantine sick leave question: This issue’s worth marching for, even worth a strike. A sick-leave for quarantine policy has the potential to chop hundreds of dollars a month off pensions down the line for unlucky teachers in the wrong areas who end up going in and out of virtual learning while quarantined. I would hope districts would leave sick leave alone and simply shift to virtual learning — but I would never leave that up to the benevolence of the district.

Even if pension issues don’t exist, emergencies happen and you may need that accumulated sick leave later. If that left carotid endarterectomy had occurred in the middle of the school year, instead of right before finals, my unused sick leave days at retirement would have been badly depleted. You may or may not find those days useful for retirement purposes.

You definitely want them for the morning when you suddenly develop double vision and end up in the hospital for a week, surrounded by kindly doctors giving you all sorts of bewildering advice that ends in major surgery. When the vascular surgeon wires you up like some modern version of Elsa Lanchester in The Bride of Frankenstein Returns because he is about to shut off a major source of blood flow to your brain, you want the best health care coverage possible.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” (John Lennon, Allen Saunders and others.)

Fight for that sick leave.

P.P.S. Useful comment from a friend: Check out AFLAC, which provides a cash benefit directly to the insured, money for expenses not covered by your health insurance.

Here’s a thought for us all:

From https://m.facebook.com/ictlearnwichita/?ref=bookmarks

If teacher’s social media posts are any indicator, the U.S. educational system is nearing Defcon 2 where reopening is concerned. The Coronavirus took a great leap upward with re-openings across the country. Many teachers are scared to go back. Many school boards and school administrations are trying to figure out which direction to take. The American Academy of Pediatrics has been pushing for schools to reopen with students physically in the classrooms this fall, observing especially that evidence is piling up to show isolation has led to mental health issues that must be weighed against other health risks. In the meantime, teachers are sharing sites with masks and face shield instructions, debating how they will manage new safety requirements. Some are retiring. A few are even resigning with COVID fears as the cause.

I saw this picture today, though, and I wanted to share its message with parents and teachers. As I write this, I am thinking of a local parent who posted to the neighborhood app that she is worried online schooling will prevent her son from getting his golf scholarship Other parents have chimed in on both sides of the elearning dilemma, some issuing warnings about dangers to immunocompromised kids and kids with diabetes, arthritis, other pre-existing conditions. On the other side are those parents who are frantically worried about learning losses from elearning.

I know a number of kids are aware of their parents’ worries, and adolescents especially are reflecting those worries as they communicate with friends over social media. The younger crowd may not be writing down their fears, but all children listen to their parents speak. Sometimes they may appear to be playing Mario Kart 8, but today’s children are experts at multitasking.

As much as kids appear to ignore adult conversation, morsels of that conversation are being chewed on all the time. The above picture says it all for me: Stay positive and model perseverance. Young people cannot control the current school situation. Sometimes their parents may be unable to affect plans they dislike. Parents near me are trying to get the district to open the two local high schools and allow students on campus. Maybe they will succeed. Maybe they won’t. In either case, I hope parents will not add to their children’s stress by sharing too many concerns.

Eduhonesty: We are making history right now. Every so often, a microbe slips off the leash, and COVID-19 remains nowhere near in control, despite some rah-rah speeches that ignore the numbers. Not only will there be no perfect choices for our next school year, sometimes there may not even be good choices — at least in comparison to 2019.

But attitude is huge and kids tend to adopt the attitude of their parents and teachers. If parents and teachers remain positive, our students will have a far greater chance of holding onto their own equanimity and enthusiasm for learning. At home, whatever the plan, the best approach will be to be enthusiastic about what happens.

“It’s so great that I have a chance to spend all this time with you!”

“I loved that video presentation you prepared on Costa Rica!”

“These new online bedtime stories are great. Didn’t Ms. Porter do a wonderful job of reading “A Porcupine Named Fluffy?”

“Be sure to wear your mask, but I know it will be fine. Maybe we can buy some fabric you like to make a new mask or two. That would be fun!”

“Yes, I imagine you don’t like the cafeteria changes, but maybe you can help me plan next week’s lunches. I bet we can come up with something more delicious than the old cafeteria meals.”

“I bought you the cutest penguin to hold your hand sanitizer. It attaches to your purse/backpack/belt loop.”

“We should make lawn signs for your birthday party! We need to plan the games for when we Zoom, too.”

“You should take up running to keep in shape for when sports open up again. Maybe we could all go biking more often.”

“Your report on the mating habits of armadillos is so interesting! Who knew armadillos did that? This is great research.”

For the kids’ sake, please let’s all try to sell whatever plan our local school district decides to put into play. In or out, remote or not, for the kids’ sake, we have to make the best or it. We want to encourage enthusiasm for this year and for all the years to come. When the next school year arrives, it will be a time to emphasize the importance and joy of learning — however we can manage to pursue that learning. Today more than ever, that question “What did you learn in school today?” should be worked into as many evenings as possible.

As to our real and valid concerns about COVID-related educational changes — I recommend we discuss those with other adults while out of earshot of the kids whenever possible.

Thomas Rhett wrote the lyrics. The song is “Be A Light,” with Keith Urban, Chris Tomlin, Hillary Scott & Reba McEntire. I’ll pick a few favorite lines:

“In a world full of hate, be a light
In a time full of doubt, just believe
In a place that needs change, make a difference.”

Hi teacher reader, and anyone else reading this today! Teaching is all about being the light and the change in kids’ lives. Even when we are sending a student to the Dean’s office with a referral form in hand, those referrals tend to be attempts to help a kid back on track while offering others the uninterrupted instruction they deserve.

Are you hurting today, reader? Did you give virtual teaching your absolute all, only to end the year on a down note?  Maybe you were riffed or even nonrenewed.  Maybe you were forced to pass a passel of kids who did nothing for months. Many schools did not let anyone fail.  Maybe you gave a “C” to one of those kids who did no work only to have angry parents attack you for their child’s non-effort.  How dare you lower his or her GPA!? If you had been a better teacher, maybe you would have received some work!!

I remain mystified by those administrators who made no allowances for the challenges of teachers trying to manage the remote learning needs of their own families while also helping all those middle or high school students who may or may not have entered their Google classrooms.  For many teachers, the last few months have been crazy busy and an abysmal downer. Whether by Zoom, Facebook or Google, so many teachers tried to make virtual learning work, with varying degrees of success.  

If you are hurting, maybe it will help to understand the whole game was loaded. For people in some places, no win was possible. I won’t dwell right now on the many reasons why that’s true. I’d like to provide support instead. Thomas Rhett wrote this song and made me think of my fellow educators: “Be a Light” – because that’s what teachers are. Teachers are lights in the darkness. In some times or neighborhoods, they may only be faint candles in fierce winds, trying their hardest to get that angry child to eat a little breakfast and calm down before the start of the day.  But day after day, they walk back in to help the adolescent girl who still cannot read, the frightened child who hopes dad will NOT be paroled, the lost boy who is hiding his confusion by cursing to get thrown out of class, and so many, many other children… all with their own stories and hopes, all carrying their own invisible baggage

Eduhonesty: You made it through the year. Be proud of yourself. Focus on what you accomplished and if you did not get the support you deserved, remember the faces that matter, the faces of the kids in your classroom. Despite all those mugs with apples on them, teachers remain one of the most underappreciated resources of our time.

In a time full of war, teachers fight for peace.

In a time full of doubt, teachers believe in students — and not just the advantaged ones. We believe in that girl who arrived at the age of fourteen with about twenty words of English. We believe in the boy with ADHD, as we try to teach him coping strategies to help stay focused. We believe in the girl who is juggling high school and a full time job at the supermarket, helping her at odd moments and during lunch with her homework. We believe in the OCD girl who is sometimes paralyzed because her rainbow has become too uneven, or the blue came out too dark, and we help guide her to a gentler place where a rainbow does not have to be abandoned because of one flaw. We quietly buy supplies for the homeless boy, and books for the girl whose single mother just lost her job.

In a world full of hate, teachers try to bring light.

In a time full of noise, sometimes teachers are the only ones listening to children crying out to be heard.

In a place that needs change — as so many do today — teachers provide safe havens for the sad, the struggling, the lonely and the hungry, along with books, Jolly Ranchers, healthier snacks, sparkly bookmarks, learning games and, most importantly, a sense of belonging.

Are you hurting today? “In a race you can’t win, slow it down. Yeah, you only get one go around… In a race you can’t win, just slow it down.” You worked and worked and worked and somehow it didn’t all get done? Forgive yourself. Some of the expectations in April and May were simply nuts. You can create the lesson. You can’t make Johnny log in.

We have been locked in the virtual fight, and I am beyond impressed with how valiantly the teachers I know have fought. But a number of you are feeling hammered in the endgame. Don’t. Just don’t. Take a deep breath, maybe find a guided meditation or bake some gingerbread cookies. Put the pain down. Teachers have been holding torches aloft through the spring of 2020, making a difference in America and all across the world. Many have been marching in streets across the country for weeks now, seeing the faces on their rosters in the face of George Floyd. Others have simply been filling out days and days of “paperwork,” trying to hold on to jobs that help feed their families, while also reading virtual bedtime stories to students scattered by quarantine.

Embrace that effort. Embrace yourself. In a time full of doubt, just believe in yourself.

The last verse of this song resonates with me:

“Yeah, it’s hard to live in color
When you just see black and white
In a world full of hate, be a light.”

And don’t let anybody dim your light because this year went sideways on us all. To all the teachers who tried to slay the dragon, while managing your own families, new technology, new software, children without access to technology or software, children missing their graduations and dances, children who were sad, afraid, or bored, holidays without celebrations, and day after day of new educational experiments, I’d like to say

P.S. And to any administrators or other decision makers who did not say thank-you — or who made it a practice to say some version of “thank-you but why did you do this when you should have done that instead?” — Shame on you!

Your search for the ideal mask may be well launched by now. In northern Illinois, most stores will not allow you to enter unless you cover your face. Many cities and suburbs require masks. Whether your geographic area requires masks or not, though, the CDC wants teachers and students to wear face coverings — masks for students over the age of two. I can see preschool children all across America happily chewing on those wet, slimy masks, and using them as Kleenex.

I’d like to start this post with a caveat that needs to be echoed through schools this fall: According to the CDC, you cannot rely on your mask. Maintaining 6-feet of social distancing remains vital to slowing the spread of the virus, Those masks help. The research shows mask usage slows infection rates. But even the unavailable N-95 is not 100% safe. That “N95” represents an efficiency rating from the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety: N95 masks filter out 95% of non-oil particles larger than .3 microns. They don’t filter out everything. Many cloth masks out there right now filter out far, far less. There’s a reason why so many articles emphasize masks should be worn to prevent YOU from getting other people sick.

You can’t trust masks. Kids will have to learn the appropriate behaviors for limiting the spread of germs. Reinforcing the need for clean hands and social distancing will be the first priority.

That said, the masks are coming. This post is especially for readers who are still only lightly acquainted with masks. Today’s a good time to begin working on finding the optimal mask. Masks can be even more complicated than shoes. A place to start untangling the mask question: Coronavirus Face Masks: What You Should Know by WebMD.

Flter pocket, nose wire and extra space are items to look for in your mask. Those filters are sometimes sold separately. The nose wire may be unnecessary and even one more thing to mess with on your face — which you are trying to avoid — but the right nose wire will yield a better seal for your mask.

I struggle with masks. I am small enough to shop the children’s section sometimes, and those adult masks often leak. Are you an unusual size? I’d be searching out those larger or smaller masks now, because some of your first attempts may be fails, even epic fails. Definition of an epic fail: It keeps falling off your face.

You want to try out masks and not merely for a half-hour jaunt to the grocery store. Come fall, you will be living in that mask all day if your district decides to go live. Can you do it? Can you do it without going nuts? The wrong mask is like the wrong shoes. You can get into school. You may manage to keep those shoes on when the kids are in the classroom. But you will be thinking about your feet when you should be thinking about metaphors or whatever-your-particular-subject instead.

Masks are a special problem for those of us who wear glasses. If you don’t have a good seal on top by your nose, warm air is guaranteed to fog your glasses. Certain breathing techniques can diminish this fogginess, but a mask that allows your glasses to fog too easily isn’t doing much of a job of keeping your breath in or the outside air out. Here is a place to start your fight against the fog: https://www.fastcompany.com/90486716/how-to-wear-a-mask-without-fogging-up-your-glasses.

If you are not the right size for most masks, you may wish to pull out a needle and thread. You can definitely make your own mask, even if you are not handy with a sewing machine. I searched “youtube video on how to make a covid mask” on Google and got “About 298,000,000 results (0.81 seconds).”  Yep, no shortage of helpful mask makers out there.

And if you create the mask version of a messed-up bedhead, well, you can always hide the mask. I have a large collection of scarves. I have been covering my mask with patterned silk. That adds one more layer to my mask and makes a fashion statement for our times. I just tuck the scarf in on top of my mask and tie it in back. Or drape it over my shoulder like below:

Other tips: Your skin will be oilier and more prone to irritation once you start wearing that mask regularly. You want to avoid products on your skin. Drop the foundation and other products below the mask.

Some doctors suggest you wash your face before putting on and taking off the mask. Well, you do you, depending on your skin type — that much washing would cause me trouble right there — but I’d say most of us should do that cleansing, with the observations that I would want to make sure my hands had already been thoroughly cleaned before I did that wash.

Materials will matter more for some than others, but almost everyone can manage cotton. If you are sensitive to fabrics, I’d research options. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/making-your-own-face-mask-some-fabrics-work-better-others-n1175966 provides useful information on picking the best fabric. A quick takeaway from that article: “In other words, if the fabric allows for a substantial amount of light to shine through, it’s probably going to allow tiny viral particles through, as well.”

If you wear earrings, life will be easier with hoops. Ties and elastic bands tend to snag on earrings, even posts. Some bracelets can be problematic and bracelets also complicate hand cleaning.

For those who have problems with ties and elastic staying in place, I recommend bobby pins, barrettes and other devices for keeping hair in place. They help keep ties and elastic in place, while potentially spiffing up your look. In Project Runway, they always emphasize that accessory wall! A strategically placed pony tail, braid or bun can also solve the problem of mask drift.

Short-haired guys — is it time to grow your hair out? More hair might make those ties more stable. Of course, due to COVID, a lot of you ARE growing your hair out…

A “don’t raise the bridge, lower the river” approach to the glasses problem: Can you get by with cheaters? Those +2.00 glasses you can pick up at the pharmacy or craft store? I have discovered some frames work better than others. Smaller rectangles fog less often.

You may also wish to add a face shield to your mask. I can’t speak to this shield’s comfort or efficiency, but I liked my mask from this company: https://boomernaturals.com/collections/medical-supplies/products/boomer-anti-droplet-protective-visor-face-shields — the best protection will be a mask/shield combo, but that combo has the potential to be pretty warm, maybe oppressively so in the wrong classroom.

Mask just a tiny bit big? Look up “ear protectors for mask.” This will pull your straps further back, which may be all you need. They look simple to make, too.

Eduhonesty: We can do this. If you missed my previous post, please consider ordering (extra) masks for students. My district has regularly “unexpectedly” run out of supplies as vital as paper. Oops! No paper for late April or May! Then weeks pass as teachers use their own supplies waiting for some purchase order to rescue them. Even if you trust your district to lay in the necessary supplies, I would not be surprised to find administrators underestimated the number of masks required. Preschool and early elementary teachers understand kids in ways that administrators do not. I bet those masks will be great for short games of tug o’ war.

Hugs to my readers.

P.S. Unfortunately, masks and scarves have to be washed. You might put a note in your calendar to remind you to wash face coverings. Like sweaters, I suspect it will be easy to wear those unwashed masks a bit longer than is wise.

This is one of those “I hate this post” posts. Because YOU should arrive at a school with pencils, paper, markers, and all the supplies you require to do your job. But you probably are not that lucky, especially if you work in a poor district. I remember I once got a $250 budget for school supplies from my district. I remember that because I never saw anything like that ever again. Some years I saw over $100. Not infrequently, I bought all my own supplies. I remember the year of red erasable markers. The head of the foreign language department had managed to source thousands and thousands of red markers and a quickly consumed supply of black markers. That was almost all the supply cupboard held all year. I used the red markers for grading, but I could not use them on the whiteboard. Colorblindness is a real thing.

Next year you will want masks and hand sanitizer. I am betting many districts are placing those orders now. But will there be enough masks? Sanitizer? How will you manage the U.S. Clorox wipes crisis when you get to the classroom? A few posts back I wrote about the absurdity of the CDC guidelines for schools. Absurd or not, doable or not, we look to be going forward. So what will you do if there are not enough masks?

For middle and high school, I would lay in a few boxes of those blue masks found in doctors’ offices. Middle school teachers especially might also want to add some smaller masks. You may need back-ups for back-ups. If you are an elementary school teacher, you might do a search on “pediatric masks” or “pediatric surgical masks.” Free hours this summer? YouTube is filled with directions for simple masks. Rocketship and dragon masks could be a fun craft project. You will want baggies for mask storage.

Eduhonesty: I would put the burden for masks on parents, and hope for the best from my school district, but as the old saying goes, “Pray to God, but row for the shore.” We all know those kids who never have a pencil. Maybe that pencil is in a bundle with other supplies under a bed, but whether supplies are purchased or not, they don’t seem to make their way into school classrooms and lockers.

This post was inspired by a colleague who had already ordered her masks and sanitizer. Most teachers do that summer supply shopping. This year, I’d include the COVID supplies and I’d start soon. Personal protective supplies can be hard to find, and sometimes take awhile to arrive.

Hugs to all. I had to close this blog to comments years ago due to trolls, so my feedback tends to be limited to messages from friends on social media. I know many readers are probably groaning or even muttering a choice stream of expletives as they read this, tired of spending so much of their own money to do their job. But row for the shore, readers. When the coughs start, you will want to be sure you have masks.

From my preceding post:

“In the area of unintended consequences, teachers are currently being riffed or nonrenewed all over the country. My social media feed is a sea of men and women who find they have no job. I am certain that many of those teachers whose jobs evaporated are the victim of numbers — the numbers that making superintendents say that schools cannot reopen under the new guidelines because schools cannot afford to reopen. What do you do when you are a district running on financial fumes — as many districts were before the start of COVID-19? You tell newer staff members that they cannot rely upon a job in the fall. Maybe you even tell them they definitely have no job. Districts afraid they cannot afford their busses will cut staff, waiting until fall to determine the absolute minimum amount of classroom coverage they require. Many of the laid-off will be rehired. But right now, they are freaking out all over my social media feeds.”

First, I want to emphasize the penultimate line in the paragraph above: Many of the laid-off will be rehired. That’s riffing. A district dumps teachers to free money for the spreadsheets. Come fall, though, those teachers tend to be called back because student loads don’t allow the district to begin without some, most or even all of those riffed teachers. Keep in mind that riffed teachers are looking for work and not all the riffed will be available to come back, creating possible vacancies. I was riffed four times and I returned every single time.

Now today’s message: Get out there. Start actively looking for the next, better job. You will never find a better time. This is anecdotal but I would put a month’s mortgage money on my belief that panicked districts have been overly aggressive in sloughing staff. I have never seen so many scared, technically or genuinely unemployed teachers at this time of year. On the one hand, that obviously would seem to put a damper on employment searches. On the other hand, in August districts will require teachers. America’s kids haven’t been abducted by aliens. That school that had 1,500 kids last year will almost undoubtedly have 1,500 kids this year. They are likely to look at their numbers and they will know that they still require a full Spanish department or the usual number of 4th grade teachers.

Nonrenewed? Nonrenewals seem to be at an all-time high too. That’s in your favor right now. You will be lost in enough of a crowd so that your nonrenewal will be unremarkable. Get the best recommendations you can. I recommend using colleagues who will enthuse about you if you are concerned about what administration might say.

Be positive. Prepare a set of upbeat answers for why you want to work in District X, Y, or Z. Don’t talk about what went wrong. Talk about what went right and why you love teaching. And go for it!

One possibly large X-factor remains in this equation that should also improve hiring and rehiring prospects this summer: August will reveal a number of unexpected vacancies from teachers sitting on the COVID-19 fence, deciding whether to risk returning to the classroom or not. Not all those teachers will choose to go back into the classroom.

Eduhonesty: Don’t panic. I believe vacancies will be popping up all over. This might be perfect time for the big adventure, the move to Alaska or Hawaii. If you are rooted, don’t be afraid to drive, especially if you enjoy listening to books.

Put on your job hunting shoes and go for it.

P.S. It’s always good to have a couple of answers to those questions about what you can improve upon, something safe like “I would like to improve my management of transitions when changing groups…”