I Teach Aspiring School Leaders. It’s Not Business as Usual (Opinion)
When I asked my school leadership students how they were doing, I realized just how difficult times are for teachers during this latest pandemic surge. I teach a yearlong introductory leadership class to teachers who are aspiring school leaders. At the university, our first day of the spring semester, in January, was the third week of class for local public K-12 schools, and many teachers were already exhausted and overwhelmed.
One student shared that their district closed for a long weekend because of high rates of COVID-19. When parents learned of the shutdown, they took to the internet to criticize teachers for taking a weekend off. “I feel so unappreciated,” the student explained.
Others reported that district homework policies were causing undue burdens. In some districts, a student quarantine triggers a 10-day independent-study contract, a list of assignments for 10 days. With so many students in and out of quarantine,…
