A teacher’s plea to Hogan: See us as the heroes our students see
I greatly respected Gov. Larry Hogan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic from its onset until now in all areas, except his comments on the education of our children (“Here’s what you need to know about Maryland public schools reopening in March,” Feb. 25). I so wish that he could sit at my desk, and see what I see, the tremendous work of your state’s teachers.
As a teacher of the blind and visually impaired with over 30 years of teaching experience, I can unequivocally state that I have never seen such intense commitment, bravery, resourcefulness and effort by teachers in my entire career as I have witnessed in my peers during this past year.
Yes, the pandemic has impacted our students, our families and our lives.
Our students have experienced anxiety and loss, and I, as well as many of my peers, have experienced the excruciating loss of parents and friends. But we teach on. Every day. We reach out to every family, every child, every day, as we have been since this disaster began a year ago. And our students are learning.
This year has presented daunting complexity for me in figuring out how in the world to get Braille dots under little fingers, how to make a visual Zoom screen accessible to kids who can’t see it, and how to demonstrate skills without the ability to touch my students. But my students are learning, growing and facing this new world with bravery, because of all of their teachers and school administrators, who remind all of the kids daily that they love them all.
I see the learning, I see the incredible effort in our children and all staff, I see the love and compassion that our schools are giving our students every day. I only wish that the governor could. This pandemic has been so difficult for us all. Watching my mother dying through an iPad, praying during my husband’s hospitalizations, watching fellow teachers grieve over the loss of their loved ones is crushing in itself. “MacGyver-ing” solutions to teach kids from a distance and watching administrators tackle building logistics that are mind boggling are stressful.
And yes, just as they did before the pandemic, there is the challenge of children and families who turn away, who we continually reach out to. But to then listen to Governor Hogan continually disparage our teaching efforts is almost more than we can bear.
Please, see us, Governor Hogan. See what we are accomplishing in this unimaginably difficult time. See that we are here, every day, for every child. We are smiling, encouraging, supporting and reaching out to all students every day. Most importantly, we are teaching every single day. Please see us the way that our students see us.