Teachers who are over 60 or at risk because of underlying conditions and/or have irrational fears of the virus could be streamed into the classroom for instruction, with an aide to monitor.
And in person education could be voluntary for both families and teachers, with the option for remote learning intact indefinitely. Many teachers do want to return to the classroom.
Yes to everything you said. The repercussions of this insanity will haunt us for years.
Tough sh!t. I don't like walking through airports and riding on planes wearing a mask. Airport shuttle buses suck and I increase my risk of contracting the virus by staying in hotels, eating in restaurants, and going to the customer's place of business where I meet and interact with random people.
I do this because it's the only way I can create value for my employer. I can't do that sitting at home in front of a computer. The quality of the product I produce just isn't very good that way. It's not unlike educating my children from a Zoom conference where the teacher "teaches" for 30 minutes, and then throws a bunch of crap onto Canvas for homework where my students either teach themselves or a parent does the teaching. Remote learning produces a crap product and no amount of lipstick you slather on it will make that pig purdy.
When we compare the plight of the private sector to that of the teacher, the teachers lecture us that we should find someone to take care of our kids while we're busy at work so they get full value from remote instruction. If not, we should find other work that will allow us to stay home so they can remain safe. I guess I should learn to code. The vast majority of teachers have no clue how their paycheck and stellar benefits come to them. They have no idea that a healthy public sector cannot exist without a robust private sector. All they know is that the public education system exists to serve them. Screw them.
....”Many teachers do want to return to the classroom”.....
Why would they when they can sit behind a computer checking submitted school work at home and get paid doing so. There’s no incentive for them returning to a classroom when they can relax at home.