The 2021-2022 school year has begun in full swing and we are already seeing the ramifications of in-person classes spreading Covid-19. It’s a tough time for both teachers and students, being that the vaccine has not been cleared for children younger than 12 years, and many eligible adults are still very resistant to getting the vaccine. The Delta variant has pushed our hospitals to the limit as Covid-positive numbers reach record numbers in Louisiana. Unwilling to face the challenge of virtual teaching for yet another year, public school boards are reluctant to go virtual and instead push for masking and testing when symptomatic. Already, Orleans Parish has tallied 370 cases during the new school year, nearly half as many as it reported for all of the 2021-2022 school year. Considering the fact that many teachers have limited to no paid leave for having to quarantine, are faced with handling both virtual and in-person classes, and are not seeing any pay raises for the extra for or stress that comes with working during the pandemic, it is imperative that we do what we can to support them. A survey conducted by The Conversation questioned 1,330 teachers and found the following:

The most successful approach for offering teachers resources is to focus on only a few familiar teaching mechanisms and gradually provide more complex options, rather than bomboarding with resources
Teachers who perceived high parental and administrative support coped better, while those who sensed scrutiny from parents and administrators when their struggles are observed had more difficulty coping
Balancing job demands and resources can reverse the trend of burnout and sustained stress
Teachers have a caring role in the lives of students outside academic work, and concern for their students general well-being is top of mind for them right now
It is found to be more effective to decrease demands than it is to provide resources

Teachers are one of the most important members of society, and we must do what we can to ensure that they do not shoulder such a massive burden during this pandemic.

Sources:

https://www.nola.com/news/article_45103006-01e4-11ec-a72e-9bb045c3c747

https://theconversation.com/how-to-prevent-teacher-burnout-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-139353