Joanne*, a pre-kindergarten teacher at a private school in Manhattan, is still waiting to hear what the year ahead has in store for her job. She said she's not aware of any specifics yet, only that her school "will be following Department of Health's guidelines" and the New York City public school system's lead.
For now, she said she'd be hesitant to return to her classroom in part because she fears her 3- and 4-year-old students aren't developmentally prepared to socially distance themselves. "My young students are just learning about hygiene and I'm sure they will be coughing and sneezing on each other as usual," she told POPSUGAR.
Joanne said that teachers are already asked to do so much with scarce resources during a regular school year. In the midst of a pandemic, she said many teachers are being asked to sacrifice even more than usual. "We take financial hits with pay that is not proportional to our work, we take physical hits with being overworked, and I just don't think that we should take a health risk. When is enough, enough?"
