Teachers are needed back in the classroom

Apetition of about 40,000 signatures calls for schools to remain locked, even after we leave level four lockdown next week. On the face of it, the call by Hamilton early childhood teacher Hannah Swinkels makes sense.

She says that, given cafes and shops won’t be open for face-to-face business come level three, then neither should schools. But her argument misses one important point: teachers are vital and their work is essential. We can’t live without them.

I understand teachers are just human. They’re everyday heroes, not superheroes. They have their own issues and those may mean some can’t return to the classroom.

Of course, safety must come first and not every teacher should return to class next week. A few teachers, however – like the airline pilots, the truck drivers, nurses and journalists in level four – are needed now more than ever. We can’t stay locked down forever.

Coronavirus has shown the important roles we all play in this world and has exposed what we can’t live without. There are the glamorous roles, like the public servant-turned-pop-culture-star Ashley Bloomfield.

He got a 20 per cent pay cut last week, by the way . . . and until that day I never thought I’d be aggrieved by someone on a multi-hundreds of thousands of dollars contract getting paid less.

Alas, these are not normal times and this article isn’t about Dr Bloomfield. It’s about how we’re getting out of lockdown.

The good doctor and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern have said schools will be safe to operate with small bubbles next week. It’s a max of 10 people per bubble. If proven wrong, their careers are on the line.

Principals Federation chairman Perry Rush agrees schools need to play their part. Despite vocal opposition to schools reopening, Rush tells me he supports the partial reopening – as long as there’s support for schools working out safety concerns. Fair enough.

Schools are about much more than teaching. While that’s being done online, other important parts of schooling are missed. They’re a safe space, often providing much-needed food. Teachers are there to listen and instruct, with wellbeing more important than maths at times like this. Rush says schools will need to reopen, to help families needing that extra assistance. ‘‘It is important at this point, particularly in a national crisis, that we pull together.’’

After four weeks in lockdown, there are now far more recoveries than new cases reported each day. Testing has become more accessible and our adherence to the rules means there’s not been widespread outbreaks like we’ve seen overseas.

To overcome coronavirus, New Zealanders have made big sacrifices. Jobs have been lost, salaries slashed and big plans have been forgotten. Some will be feeling lonely, some will be trapped in homes that are not safe, some are no longer able to afford the ever-growing food and power bills.

Women and low-income families will be feeling these sacrifices the most. UN Women says Covid-19 is disproportionately affecting women, in part due to jobs. Women are over-represented in jobs hardest hit by the pandemic – such as manufacturing, hospitality, tourism and healthcare.

Considering that a quarter of children in New Zealand live in single-parent households – mostly with solo mothers – this can’t be ignored.

Other areas of work, such as construction, have been given the green light for level three and this will mean parents can’t be at home for their children. Families will be facing hard choices about whether to send their children back to school or lose their incomes.

We need teachers more than ever. For the office workers this may not seem like a big deal. Many will have signed the petition, having seen how well distance learning is working out. When your office is your home, or if you’re lucky enough to have a big wha¯ nau nearby, then the kids won’t need to go to school. Not everyone has those privileges.

Secretary for Education Iona Holsted has faced questions about how her agencies can support families that relied on schools for the internet or even food. She responded: ‘‘A situation like a pandemic reveals the inequality in our system, it doesn’t create it.’’

But if schools do remain closed as 40,000 people have asked, then teachers’ response to this pandemic will be acting to worsen inequality. It will place extra stress on single parents and isolated families. There is an undeniable but small risk that infections could spread at schools, but the cost of keeping them closed is certain and devastating for our most vulnerable children.

Teachers, once again, are faced with a hard task but an important one. To the teachers preparing lessons from home and those heading back to school on Tuesday, thank you.

If schools do remain closed as 40,000 people have asked, then teachers’ response to this pandemic will be acting to worsen inequality.