Aging Teachers Ask Themselves, Do I Quit Or Risk My Life?
David Galloway became a teacher 13 years ago, after three decades working in other fields. He calls teaching a calling, but now he’s considering cutting his time in the classroom short.
Galloway, who is 64, has type II diabetes and is married to a breast cancer survivor, teaches sixth grade science in Jackson County, Florida. Last week, the state’s education commissioner said that all schools would soon have to open five days a week, despite the state’s record-setting number of COVID-19 cases. Galloway misses his students, but returning to the classroom suddenly feels like a gamble.
“They never went over this stuff in teacher college,” said Galloway.
He is one of a number of aging or immunocompromised teachers around the country who might quit their jobs or retire early if they’re asked to return full-time to the classroom this fall. Nearly 20% of private and public school teachers are over the age of 65, an age group that is especially vulnerable to COVID-19, according to the American Enterprise Institute. Some teachers near or in this age range have to consider how long they can make their money last if they quit; whether it’s worth it to leave a job over health concerns; and the reality that quitting could jeopardize their access to health insurance.
“We’ve gone from being the heroic teachers back in March, but now they want us to go over to the trenches like World War I,” said Galloway, who is president of his local teacher’s union. “It’s been a fast fall from hero to cannon fodder.”
In Florida, other union leaders said they have been inundated with calls from scared members, some of whom are considering leaving their job in an effort to prioritize their health. In national polls, about 20% of teachers have said they may not return to their school if it opens in the fall. Galloway’s district did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether there will be any special accommodations offered to aging or...
