For Teachers, It’s Been a Year

We asked educators to call in and let it all out, wax poetic, or sound off about their experiences teaching during the pandemic—here’s what they had to say.May 21, 2021View transcript

Woman: Honestly, the first thing I want to do is just burst into tears.  My tank is empty. And I need to binge all the Girl Scout cookies, and only wear sweatpants for at least three months straight.

Woman: I’ve been a teacher for 27 years. And this is the first time I have just hated what I do. It has nothing to do with the kids.

Woman: We were heroes one minute and then vilified. People wanted to blame us for having schools closed. 

Woman: I wanted to stand outside the school with a megaphone and just shout. I am just a lady. I have no idea what is going on, but I am here and I’m really trying my best.

Man: There are things I think we’ll be able to take away from this, but for the most part it’s like ugh. 

Woman: I have taught hybrid, then remote, then back to in person, then we got quarantined. And then I have to do state testing. Somebody somewhere is not listening to educators.

Woman: So I had my kids in the classroom, not really socially distanced. Then I had my kids on Zoom. Then I have kids, I never was able to find. They were just missing like to take attendance like I just gave up. 

Woman: I care about my kids. I love them. But I feel like I’m choosing between my sanity and everything admin required of me. 

Woman: I think one of the hardest things it’s making the middle schoolers wear their masks so we can stay at school. It’s like would you just put the damn mask on and leave it on your face, please? 

Man: It’s been a struggle, but I also have really valued this year as a time to question a lot of the things that we believe about public education. 

Woman: This is our chance to really shake up education, to look at what really matters. To look at, how do we spend our 53 minutes in class each day?

Woman: I teach high school ELL students. To see them struggling at first but overcoming all their challenges in a virtual environment.

Woman:  I’m so grateful that I looked outside as a way to safely bring my students back to school. Some days our read-alouds take place under a canopy of tall pine trees.

Woman: I can’t do this without getting broken up. This year has the most daunting but the most rewarding, and I’m so proud of all of us. Teachers, administrators, students, we couldn’t have done it without each other.

Woman: America’s (AND TURKISH) educators are stronger and braver than you think. If we can make it through this year, we can make it through anything.

We believe in our TEACHERS and STUDENTS