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Teachers in some districts want to conduct lessons from home during the pandemic. Massachusetts education officials are expecting teachers to teach from classrooms and that’s not going to fly.

Teachers From Home

Worcester instructors are given the flexibility to either teach from home or directly from the school.

Springfield Education Association President Maureen Colgan Posner has stated they’re waiting “until we have a full report on the ventilation systems in all of our buildings.” At least the union and district are in favor of supporting the wellbeing of their people.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recommends that the instructors should teach from the school buildings. The DESE believes that this will overall benefit the educator-student relationship. This would ensure familiarity.

However, with new cases of the Covid-19, The Massachusetts Teachers Association isn’t in favor.

Why put instructors at risk?

Colleen Quinn, the spokeswoman for the state’s Executive Office of Education, reports:

“In remote scenarios, instruction from the classroom is the most effective educational environment. Schools can ensure that students receive a structured, engaging, and consistent learning experience. [This gives] teachers access to reliable resources and stability.”

Hopkinton Teachers Association President Becky Abate states:

“This demand is one that seems to reflect more of a distrust of teachers and a lack of confidence in their ability to work as professionals from a home office, despite the fact that the majority of corporate America has yet to return to the office and have been told ‘if you can work from home, you should work from home’ in an effort to keep the virus at bay.”

Boston Teachers Union President Jessica Tang refers to the state’s guidance:

“If it unnecessarily puts people at risk, we are going to have to go above and beyond that ‘expectation’ and keep educators at home and safe. Risking unneeded exposure for thousands of educators across the state is contradictory to the Governor’s request that those who can work from home, should.”