National NPR Poll Shows Majority Of Teachers Worried About Going Back To School

 

A national poll taken in early August by National Public Radio & Ipsos says that 82% of U.S. schoolteachers are worried about returning to school, and that 2/3rd of them would rather teach "remotely." 

Apparently, they agree with the public in general. NPR also found in another poll that 2/3rds of the general public surveyed thought their schools should be "primarily remote."

What's motivating the teachers to be concerned? The poll found that 77% of them were worried about their personal health and whether they would have enough protection and cleaning materials to keep themselves and their classrooms safe. The Centers for Disease Control have upped the recommendations for keeping classrooms properly cleaned.

Other concerns are about the actual process of teaching; 73% of teachers felt they'd have a hard time connecting physically with students while wearing masks and distancing. The problem of enforcing "social distancing" is one that weighs heavily on teachers. A total of 49% surveyed said they would be "very likely" to have trouble keeping students safe by keeping them apart. And an additional 35% agreed it would be "somewhat likely" this would be a problem. Only 6% of the teachers said they'd not have a problem at all with this issue.

An August 6th story on NPR about the survey ("Most Teachers Concerned About In-Person School; 2 in 3 Want To Start The Year Online") interviewed teachers who were torn by their genuine desire to teach in class and the problems the school year will bring whether teaching is done face-to-face or online.

84% of the teachers said there were issues and gaps with online learning. The same number of teachers, nationally, said they were concerned that whatever plans were being made at their schools  would "change after the year starts."