To the Editor:
There seem to be some suspicions regarding the reporting of the death of teachers in the southern school districts. Because of the sensitivity of the reporting of these deaths, America is not getting the full picture regarding the opening of schools with in-class and in-person instruction.
The southern school districts, as a whole, have opened schools with in-person instruction in mid-August, disregarding all advice by medical authorities and simple common sense.
The result, as you can imagine, is multiple infections of both students and staff, that continue to rage. They seem to be looking for ‘herd immunity’ and couldn’t care less who dies in the search.
The availability of fully state-certified teachers with a degree and experience is very low on a good day.
When there is a good chance of a teacher being infected with a deadly disease, the chance of finding a licensed teacher with proper certifications and degrees is zero.
Nobody wants to work facing likely death or at least painful, debilitating illness. It simply is not worth the risk, especially in the very low-paying southern states.
It’s even very doubtful in the higher paying north. In New Jersey, there are school systems that can’t attract educators because of current conditions.
Herds of currently employed educators have opted to take a leave of absence or retire, rather than risk dying. I’ve been pointing this out for months. The writing was on the wall, so to speak.
I worked in the inner-city for 38 years where the population seems to be targeted by this virus. The statistics regarding racial background becoming infected is far higher for this population. As a result, educators are very careful regarding their exposure to this virus.
Children have become targets for this disease if they’re members of a family that has little or no background in everyday health practices. Because of this, you can be sure that this virus will enter the classroom.
This is why the larger cities have decided to go to totally remote instruction. The risk of infecting the entire professional team is so great, that this is the only current answer and response we have until there’s a vaccine that is proven to work.
