My post on school opening

I teach in a secondary school and tomorrow is my first day back after Christmas. There will only be a few children in school and I will teach my classes online for now. I don't have any issues with this at all. I'll be in my room doing my lessons and recording additional lesson material for other classes this week.

My issues with this week is the primary schools. I haven't entered into any online debates about this and I am far from a hard political activist but here is what I am hearing rightly or wrongly.

This covid various strain is very transmissible. I guess that means it is airborne rather than touch dependent. So current restrictions outside of school are you are able to meet 1 other person outside. So in my well insulated classroom I can have up to 34 children from different families in there at once. During the course of the day that means about 200 students mainly from different families and so this means if one student has it within that group they run the risk of transmitting spreading it like wild fire. How can this be sensible? Mass testing in a week or two will clearly pick up this ridiculous increase in the virus and our schools will end up closed.

It puts me and my family in a really difficult place. We both work in schools we both appreciate the bubble system is far from perfect and there is risk of cross contamination all over but we are prepared to do our duty. This says who we are. We may not be doctors or nurses or health care professionals but we do our bit and we do our best to stick to the rules.

The question is should we be selfish? 

Should I take a stand and protect my family?

I don't know the right answer. What if going and doing the best ends up one of us getting ill?

It is a tough call and I don't know the right answer. I guess I'll see what tomorrow brings and then take it from there. I will have limited contact with anyone tomorrow and the students will not be in.