i'm all for teachers getting paid more and treated much better than they are. they should be given the proper tools to do everything we need them to do, and they should be respected for doing a very hard job.
and right now, they should be given the equipment and support to teach from home. in-school learning during a pandemic is dangerously stupid for everyone, teachers included.
but i don't care for the setup, that teachers are there just to teach the core subject matter (reading and writing in this case) and the suggestion that all the rest is just incremental asks that shouldn't be part of the job.
no, they are part of the job, and teachers are (or should be) receiving resources and training for this. this particular teacher has "two degrees and multiple certificates". that can't all be about getting really good at reading and writing and how to teach core subjects. that training certainly should include psychology and behavior and safety and so on. the school itself should provide fire safety drill and so on as well.
that's all part of the job of teaching because unless you're coming to the student's house while a parent is there, the student is *in your care* for a period of time. that means you're responsible for *everything* that comes with taking care of a child for a period of time. that includes most of the things a babysitter would be responsible for, including getting the child to safety in case of fire, stopping fights among the kids, etc.
those aren't additional asks, those things are part of the job, and should be part of the training as well.
again, i'll certainly agree that teachers are underpaid and not given enough resources or respect. so i hear the frustration and i agree with it, but the implication given the way the letter is set up is that they shouldn't do any of these other things and should just teach the core subjects, and i don't agree with that.
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