Wish I wasn't a teacher because of Covid

[NebularNerd]

In my family/friends circle, I am the only one who will be face to face with 150+ people per day with no PPE, no social distancing, nothing.

I have one relative who is not expecting to return to the office this year.
Another who now only works in the office two days per week, in a building where numbers are severely restricted, one way systems, spaced out desks etc.
Another friend who is also able to wfh for the foreseeable future.

I can't help but think that had I made a different career choice I would not now be faced with contracting a potentially life threatening virus and passing it on to my clinically extremely vulnerable husband or elderly parents.

I will go to work and try to ignore what's going on in the world and do my best. But I wish I could be made to feel safer - screens, masks, fewer pupils, something.

I hope I'm worrying for nothing, but it is getting difficult to sleep at night.

Also - wash my hands when exactly? I don’t pee between 7.30am and 5pm during term time, I’m not sure when all this hand washing is going to take place!

@BikeTyson

At no point have any of us said we are hard done by or worse than anyone else. I do have a diverse range of friends and family. My DH has had very challenging work conditions. We teachers are very aware of people who have had it very tough. At no point have any of us said we have it worse.

We are entitled to be anxious about our conditions upon return to school. End of.

@IWantAPetUnicorn we have a pregnant lady in our staff. She has been given a personal risk assessment. She is team teaching one class to minimise the risk so she is in her bubble. She told me that she has to go on mat leave at week 28 because of the risks. Not sure if it is the same in England.

Preschool age here, in a school. We have fewer numbers. Staggered entry. But at this age they cannot understand social distancing yet. They are at that age when they try to put their fingers in your mouth if you smile, or wipe their noses on your uniform. Im dreading it. And also asking why i chose this career, also reminding myself im lucky to have a job

At no point have any of us said we are hard done by or worse than anyone else. I do have a diverse range of friends and family. My DH has had very challenging work conditions. We teachers are very aware of people who have had it very tough. At no point have any of us said we have it worse.

My comment was in response to the OP which seemed focused on comparing their situation to their friends and family.

I do sympathise but it's not just teachers. What about the supermarket workers who have been in close contact/no PPE throughout the pandemic. The hospital workers who have been exposed? Bus drivers. The risk in the community is currently really low.

I try hard not to think about it in school but i am honestly contemplating wearing a mask.

@LoveMyNewHomee Yes, its not a competition. However staff in supermarkets are behind screens and can choose to wear a mask.
We do have a right to feel scared.

@Utrecht

Yes, the risks to me, my students and my children are minimal. But the risks to the other people around me aren’t, and so I’ll be limiting my wider interactions again once term starts - not because I’m afraid, but because I’m reasonably responsible and don’t want to spread a debilitating virus.

Of course, I understand that. I have elderly parents too. However, we can't put the return to school off any longer. My pupils are needy and have difficult backgrounds. Those needs have to be prioritised and we have to look forwards in order to make it through this tunnel. There is a light at the end of it.

@neveradullmoment99

It pisses me off no end that I know of nobody else who is going back to work with only ‘wash your hands’ as the risk assessment.

Exactly

Agree. And, as others have said, washing hands when at work is easier said than done.

I just go on and get on with it. The only thing that keeps me going in is the fact that community transmission is low in Scotland.

However in the two weeks that we have been back there have been schools with pupils testing positive with covid daily. Not one day has passed without a school saying they have had to isolate staff and pupils. However the only plus is that school transmission pupil to pupil does not seem to be happening for now.

@neveradullmoment99 no it's not a competition but there are people, myself included, who have worked throughout and felt anxious and worried. I work in paediatrics and was pretty much told to get on with it.

Those of you saying you can’t wear masks might be interested to know that Health and Safety legislation trumps back to school guidance. In the context of corona virus - employers (including schools) are required by the Health and Safety Executive to allow their employees to wear masks so your Head can’t actually stop you. Contact your union if you feel you need support about this.

neu.org.uk/press-releases/coronavirus-neus-position-face-masks?fbclid=IwAR3EifO2vbsvdQg0Al3_WMfGQ1ULYI071kw8E5ihrQ18loCuFGQLi908Jqk

@LoveMyNewHomee I totally agree. It must be very hard for those that work like yourself in the medical profession.

It's really shit, OP. Primary is bad, but secondary seems like utter madness. I'm a bit worried and I know several teachers and teaching assistants who have vulnerable family members who are having to go back in faced with no protection. Shocking really.

Sadly also starting to think what is the point in taking precautions. I am faced with the risk at all angles - at school myself and i have 2 children in high school and one in primary. That makes it 3 schools i have links with! The one i teach in and the 2 others my children go to.

@Veryverycalmnow The vast majority of cases have been in primary schools in Scotland.

I work on public transport in a very busy place. We didn’t have PPE and customers didn’t have to wear PPE for months when cases and deaths were at the highest. Just had to get on with it. Wash hands, sanitise, keep a distance (nigh on impossible where I work).

Maybe its the interaction out of school? I havent added them up. They dont seem to report them all.

[quote LoveMyNewHomee]@neveradullmoment99 no it's not a competition but there are people, myself included, who have worked throughout and felt anxious and worried. I work in paediatrics and was pretty much told to get on with it. [/quote]
I feel lots of sympathy for everyone who has had to work throughout this crisis in unsafe conditions.

I do feel though that things seem to be improving elsewhere - compulsory masks, screens, people working from home and PPE for NHS staff, for example.

Teachers are going back to work with nothing, so it's as if the last few months hasn't happened.

And at the same time we/the public are being gaslighted into thinking that transmission can't possibly happen in schools. Apparently the only workplace that IS immune to the pandemic.

My best friend is a nurse and says she feels safe as she has full PPE and there are so many other safety measures in place. I'm not comparing teachers and nurses, but that's just her perspective 🤷‍♀️

What’s stopping you from getting your own mask and face shield? What do you suggest as an alternative. The country is all but bankrupt. This virus needs to be lived with. My son and his g/f are both paramedics, both tested positive, both had no symptoms, isolated so they didn’t pass it in, Back to work.
If you are obese, have a severe lung disease, or come from another high risk group, then I think you have a case for not being in work. Otherwise, I don’t think so.

nowtherave how do you know what these 40 odd teachers feel? Really? Lots of people put on a brave face.

Besides which as MN likes to point outwe have all been away from the workplace for so long that I have not spoken to most of my colleagues recently.
Imo , teachers' level of anxiety depends on several factors :- the situation on their area, their own health and their family ; their own perception of risk and their circumstances , their perception of how far the government advice genuinely protects , how far they read the news (and which news!) and how that makes them feel and , lastly and most importantly, the leadership of their school and the measures being put in place. Mine is so shit, any teacher would feel anxious.

@Joeblack066 exactly what you said 👍🏻

@NebularNerd I don’t know what to say but had to something - it’s not right and I don’t think they’ll get away with it for long. How teachers are being treated is one of the main reasons for not sending mine in. If all the other issues could be resolved I still wouldn’t send - I don’t want to be part of a system that treats teachers like this. I won’t return to teaching (currently SAHM) to teaching unless there is legislation insuring teaching never get treated like this again. I’m hoping a lot of parents vote with their feet so that they can’t get away with substandard safety guidelines for our children and our teachers.