There has been a nationwide debate as to whether or not students should return back to school due to the Coronavirus pandemic. I live in Deerfield, Illinois, a North Shore suburb of Chicago, where the majority of residents are upper-middle class and the education is one of the very best in the country. The teachers in Deerfield have been clear as to what they feel is right and best for them and their students during this time, but the parent community feels as though its opinions are more prominent than those of the teachers. As somebody studying to become a teacher, and somebody who has had her fair share of encounters with teachers in and out of this community, I can say with confidence that teachers do what they do because they are passionate about their work and care an insurmountable amount about their students. Teachers entered their profession for a reason. Teachers are some of the most selfless, hardworking, and caring people you will ever meet, yet they are being treated as the villains because they want to protect their lives and the lives of their students.

This is what many teachers are saying: We do not feel safe going to work because we do not feel comfortable risking our lives nor the lives of our students or families. It is completely understandable that during a pandemic teachers would not feel safe going back to school and being in such close contact with students and other teachers, yet many parents do not seem to understand this. The teacher community is not declaring that they do not want to work as hard and still collect pay. Rather, they are declaring that they do not feel safe physically coming in to work, but will still do their jobs to the fullest via computer screen. In no instance did teachers ever imply that they do not want to do their jobs. In fact, all teachers that I know have been working double time in order to ensure that their students will still be getting an incredible education and unconditional support despite being faced with the challenge of needing to do so over a computer screen.

It is safe to say that where I come from we are privileged with impeccable education, but none of that would be possible without the teachers. The same people criticizing these teachers would likely not even last a day in the classroom without the added stress of a pandemic, so why do they think they have the right to make this decision? Unfortunately, this circumstance is very serious, and one that nobody saw coming. This calls for flexibility, patience, and understanding. The way in which people can be so critical towards teachers for wanting to protect not only their safety, but the safety of their families and students, is something I cannot condone. We all have our niches in life, our areas of expertise, so please, I beg of you, leave the decisions meant to be made by teachers to the teachers themselves. They are here for your children in every way, they know what they are doing, and all they want is safety. The teachers are the unsung heroes, the ones that you trust with your children every single day; now all they want to do is protect them, and, as a result, are being ridiculed. We were taught at a very young age to listen to the teacher, and that lesson should be applied now more than ever.