I’m a NC Teacher. Stop Treating NC School Reopening as a Game.

If we’re going to reopen schools during a pandemic, state and federal officials must take this seriously. 

Since the end of remote teaching for me and remote learning for my son, I’ve had a bit more time to play board games with my kids.  

Like many teachers, my “school brain” is rarely off and I can’t even look at a stack of games without being reminded how these games of chance play into the hands we’ve been dealt while facing COVID-19.

The current field of play has all of us connected like Domino Rally, only the goal is to keep dominoes standing.

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As we process the gravity of resuming school during a pandemic, let’s remember that decisions roll downhill.  We must not confuse scapegoats with potential allies in this mission.  Misdirected frustration is friendly fire we cannot afford and lets those with the power to alleviate the situation off the hook.

Parents are doing their best to keep their family moving through the Game of Life.

Teachers have been caught in a game of Yahtzee where each year they roll a full house.

‘The North Carolina General Assembly has been playing Operation on our schools for years and when folks feel the effects and their noses light up, they blame their fellow patients instead of the lawmakers holding the tweezers.’

Principals have been tasked with assembling the General Assembly’s puzzles but were never given all the pieces.

Superintendents make progress on their district’s Rubik’s Cube but General Assembly policies keep moving around the stickers.

School boards take heat from communities while keeping up a house of cards in a room with a cold front blowing in from West Jones Street.

The North Carolina General Assembly has been playing Operation on our schools for years and when folks feel the effects and their noses light up, they blame their fellow patients instead of the lawmakers holding the tweezers.

Since 2014 lawmakers have pushed more marbles to wealthy and corporate Hungry Hungry Hippos but expect Perfection from schools that have fewer marbles than before the last recession.

There is no Monopoly money needed to grant districts calendar flexibility or allow districts to begin the year with remote learning.

Guess Who trumpets local autonomy but binds districts’ wrists with these restrictions just to remind them who’s King of the Mountain? Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger.

They put staff and students at Risk by failing to fund school reopening requirements set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Educators in good faith cannot stand by and watch their students and colleagues sent into the Mousetrap.  They’re looking for support from all stakeholders with their statewide petition unveiled this week.

For some, it’s Taboo for educators to take a stand but our schools can’t keep taking it on the chin like a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot.

There’s Trouble ahead if we continue the Charade that our schools are ready and safe for return.  The state must do more than tell us “Simon Says.”

How Sorry would we be to lose people because we didn’t hold those accountable who don’t have a Clue what it will be like to lead children through an unfunded Labyrinth?

We can leave our fate in this not-so Trivial Pursuit to folks who want to reassure us with a Magic 8 Ball, or we can Connect Four stakeholders – parents, educators, administrators, and district leadership – to demand funding for state health requirements before waving the green flag.

Front-line educators must have seats at the poker table before you gamble with our lives – we aren’t bluffing with them on the line.

For years, the General Assembly has tasked schools with more while failing to support them. We’re done with the games.  Stop playing Jenga with our schools.