I'm a New York City public school teacher and 63 of my colleagues have died from the coronavirus. It didn't have to happen this way.
我是紐約市一所公立學校的老師，我的63名同事都死於冠狀病毒。這並不一定要以這種方式發生。
(艾米麗·詹姆斯)
April 24, 2020, 12:12 AM GMT+8
2020年4月24日，格林威治標準時間上午12:12 +8
Sixty-three Department of Education employees have died from the coronavirus.
63名教育部工作人員死於冠狀病毒。
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- Mayor Bill de Blasio shut down New York City's public schools March 15, a week after the state had declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus.
- 紐約市長白思豪(Bill de Blasio) 3月15日關閉了紐約市的公立學校。一週前，紐約州宣佈由於冠狀病毒疫情進入緊急狀態。
- Leading up to the decision, teachers and administrators reported unsanitary conditions, a lack of soap and cleaning supplies, and cases of infected teachers.
- 在做出這一決定之前，教師和管理人員報告了不衛生的條件，缺乏肥皂和清潔用品，以及受感染教師的案例。
- As of Monday, 63 Department of Education employees, including 25 teachers, had died from the coronavirus.
- 截至週一，共有63名教育部員工死於冠狀病毒，其中包括25名教師。
- Emily James, a public high school teacher in Brooklyn, New York, said she's distraught over the number of colleagues she's lost.
- 紐約布魯克林的公立高中教師艾米麗·詹姆斯(Emily James)說，她為自己失去了這麼多同事而心煩意亂。
- This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.
- 這是一個觀點專欄。所表達的思想是作者的思想。
"Miss, if anything ever happened to you, I don't know what I would do."
“小姐，如果你出了什麼事，我真不知道該怎麼辦。”
I can't count the times I've heard my students utter those words to me during my 14 years as a public high school teacher in New York City. I know it's not because I'm some kind of Wonder Woman of an educator. It's because, like most teachers, I love my students fiercely, and they feel it and need it.
在我14年的紐約公立高中教師生涯中，我無數次聽到我的學生對我說出這樣的話。我知道這並不是因為我是個神奇女俠或是教育家。這是因為，像大多數老師一樣，我非常愛我的學生，他們感受到了我的愛，也需要我的愛。
When I know a student is having a bad day, I laugh at their jokes or tell them one of my own. I bring cupcakes for birthday celebrations. I have long talks with students' parents on the phone.
當我知道一個學生有一天過得很糟糕時，我會對他們講的笑話大笑，或者告訴他們我自己的笑話。我帶小蛋糕來慶祝生日。我和學生家長在電話裡談了很久。
That love is why the recent deaths of 63 New York City Department of Education employees, including 25 teachers, from the coronavirus, hit so hard. To put that figure into perspective, 13 New York City firefightersand police officers have died from the disease. But we are not first responders, at least not technically.
這種愛就是為什麼最近63名紐約市教育局員工(包括25名教師)死於冠狀病毒的原因。從這個數字來看，紐約市已有13名消防員和警察死於這種疾病。但我們不是第一反應者，至少在技術上不是。
For me, the teacher and school personnel deaths have brought another level of heartbreak. I look at the pictures of each teacher, paraprofessional, or counselor smiling, and all those smaller faces of students who love them appear in my mind. Students who won't get to grieve together or have their questions answered, who will wait for them to appear the next week and the week after, and never see them again.
對我來說，老師和學校人員的死亡帶來了另一種程度的心碎。我看著每一位老師、副老師或輔導員微笑的照片，所有那些喜歡他們的學生的小臉都出現在我的腦海裡。學生們不會一起哀悼，也不會有人回答他們的問題，他們會等著他們在下一週或下一週出現，然後再也見不到他們。
The next thing I can't help but see is Mayor Bill de Blasio. While I'm unable to fully understand what it entails to run a city, to make decisions of such magnitude everyday, I do believe that he chose wrong, and his choices were fatal.
接下來我看到的是市長比爾·德布拉西奧(Bill de Blasio)。雖然我無法完全理解管理一個城市需要什麼，每天都要做出如此重大的決定，但我相信他的選擇是錯誤的，他的選擇是致命的。
Teachers and administrators pleaded with the city to close schools
教師和管理人員懇求市政府關閉學校
New York declared a state of emergency on March 7. Mayor Bill De Blasio waited until March 15 to close schools.
3月7日，紐約宣佈進入緊急狀態。紐約市長白思豪(Bill De Blasio)直到3月15日才關閉學校。
YouTube/Screenshot YouTube /截圖
In early March, when there were already reports of community spread of the novel coronavirus in New York City, teachers and administrators begged and fought for our, and our students', safety to be upheld and for de Blasio to close schools. More than 375,000 people signed a Change.org petitionbeseeching the mayor to cancel school, and teachers planned a mass "sickout" to protest.
3月初，當紐約市已經有關於這種新型冠狀病毒在社區傳播的報道時，教師和管理人員懇求併為維護我們和學生的安全而戰，並要求白思豪關閉學校。超過37.5萬人在Change.org網站上簽名請願，要求市長取消學校，教師們計劃舉行大規模的“請病假”抗議。
Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency in New York on March 7. But schools remained open.
紐約州州長安德魯·科莫於3月7日宣佈紐約州進入緊急狀態。但是學校仍然開放。
De Blasio repeatedly said he was reluctant to cancel school because of the thousands of students who rely on the meals they getduring the school day. For many, those breakfasts and lunches are what they subsist on. But that wasn't reason enough to put the lives of teachers and students at risk.
德布拉西奧一再表示，他不願停課，因為有成千上萬的學生每天只能吃一頓飯。對許多人來說，這些早餐和午餐是他們賴以生存的食物。但這還不足以讓老師和學生的生命處於危險之中。
The mayor needed to look no further than California and Washington at that point, states that shuttered schools in early March and got waivers from the USDA to distribute to-go meals at designated pick-up locations.
當時，市長只需要看看加州和華盛頓，這兩個州在3月初關閉了學校，並獲得了美國農業部的豁免，可以在指定的地點分發外賣。
It was such a feasible solution that De Blasio ended up doing just that. People in need can now pick up three meals a day at more than 400 distribution sites across the city.
這是一個非常可行的解決方案，白思豪最終就是這麼做的。有需要的人現在可以在全市400多個配送點領取一日三餐。
De Blasio's office did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
德布拉西奧的辦公室沒有回應“局內人”的置評請求。
Schools didn't have the manpower or supplies to be 'deep cleaned'
學校沒有足夠的人力和物資來“深度清潔”
De Blasio's decision to keep schools open meant 1.1 million students and their 76,000 teachers continued to go to school, commuting to and from on public transportation, sitting in filthy classrooms, without Clorox wipes or hand sanitizer. There were claims that the schools were being "deep cleaned," but those claims were laughable.
德布拉西奧決定讓學校繼續開放，這意味著110萬名學生和7.6萬名教師繼續上學，他們上下班乘坐公共交通工具，坐在骯髒的教室裡，沒有高樂氏溼巾或洗手液。有人說學校正在“大掃除”，但這些說法是可笑的。
At my school, custodians were already overworked. I heard the same from many of my colleagues. Teachers were scrubbing their own floors, doorknobs, and desks with whatever supplies they could find. Kids were coughing into their hands, and onto each other, and us as they asked to try to find more tissues and soap, but the bathrooms were out.
在我的學校，保管員已經超負荷工作了。我從許多同事那裡聽到了同樣的話。老師們用他們能找到的任何東西來擦地板、門把手和桌子。孩子們咳嗽著用手捂著彼此，我們也咳嗽著，因為他們要求我們去找更多的紙巾和肥皂，但是廁所都沒有了。
There wasn't enough manpower or supplies to foster a clean and safe environment.
沒有足夠的人力和物資來營造一個清潔和安全的環境。
It was impossible for students to practice social distancing while school was in session.
學生們在上課期間不可能練習社交距離。
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Social distancing was impossible to enforce among children and teens
在兒童和青少年中，社會距離是不可能加強的
The hallways at my Brooklyn school were packed between classes, gym classes were jammed with students playing in close contact, and cafeterias were crammed with kids eating together. Social distancing was something that one could only dream of. Students were living in germ incubation centers, then going home to their multi-generational families, where they could easily spread the disease.
在我布魯克林學校的走廊裡，課間擠滿了人，體育課上擠滿了近距離玩耍的學生，自助餐廳裡也擠滿了一起吃飯的孩子。社會距離是一個人只能夢想的事情。學生們住在細菌孵化中心，然後回到多代同堂的家庭，在那裡他們很容易傳播疾病。
By the time the mayor decided to shutter schools on March 15, it was too late. The explosion in cases among DOE employees — despite the order to shelter in place since then — drives home how dangerous those last few days were.
3月15日，市長決定關閉學校，但為時已晚。儘管從那時起就有了避難的命令，但美國能源部僱員中發生的爆炸使人們認識到過去幾天是多麼危險。
After schools were closed, teachers were told to report to work for 3 more days
學校停課後，老師們被告知要再工作3天
Even after we fought and finally convinced de Blasio — albeit too late — that school should no longer be in session, he instructed all public school teachers in New York City to report to work for three more days. The city conducted trainings for teachers to set up online classrooms.
即使我們最終說服了德布拉西奧——儘管太晚了——學校不應該再上課，他還是要求紐約市所有公立學校的教師再工作三天。全市開展教師培訓，建立網上課堂。
Teachers, like me, who didn't report to work those days and worked from home, had to use our sick days. We were penalized even though we were busy setting up our remote classrooms, organizing assignments, and reaching out to parents from a place we felt safe. My husband is high-risk, and I couldn't afford to put myself or my family in danger again.
像我這樣的老師，那些天不上班，在家工作，不得不請病假。儘管我們忙著佈置偏遠的教室，佈置作業，在一個我們覺得安全的地方聯繫家長，但我們還是受到了懲罰。我丈夫是高危人群，我不能再把自己或家人置於危險之中。
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But what did most other teachers do? They showed up. Pregnant teachers, elderly teachers, young teachers with full lives ahead of them. They reported to work when all non-essential workers were told to stay home.
但是其他大多數老師是怎麼做的呢?他們出現了。懷孕的老師，年老的老師，年輕的老師，他們的未來充滿了希望。當所有非必要的工人都被告知呆在家裡時，他們才去上班。
When they arrived, many teachers told me they were given little to no instruction, and that the program could've been accomplished remotely.
當他們抵達時，許多老師告訴我，他們幾乎沒有得到任何指導，而且這個項目可以遠程完成。
Schools are now closed at least through the end of the year. But teachers continue to teach every day and students continue to learn. I continue to show up to virtual staff meetings, fearing that one of my colleagues will not be there. I anxiously await the next email or text message about the next single parent whose has died, or the uncle or aunt had to be taken off the ventilator, cases that could have likely been contracted from students at my school.
現在學校至少要關閉到年底。但是老師每天都在教，學生每天都在學。我繼續參加虛擬的員工會議，擔心我的一位同事不會出席。我焦急地等待著下一封關於下一位單親家長死亡的電子郵件或短信，或是叔叔或阿姨不得不被拔掉呼吸機的消息，這些病例很可能是我們學校的學生感染的。
John Minchillo/AP 約翰Minchillo /美聯社
The catastrophic effect of this slow response will not be forgotten.
這種緩慢反應的災難性後果將不會被忘記。
The DOE is currently under investigation for trying to sweep coronavirus illnesses among its educators under the rug, for instructing principals not to report virus cases to the Department of Health, and for ignoring unsanitary conditions.
美國能源部目前正在接受調查，因為它試圖掩蓋其教育工作者中冠狀病毒疾病的情況，因為它指示校長們不要向衛生部報告病毒病例，因為它忽視了不衛生的情況。
Regardless of whether the mayor is found culpable, that won't bring comfort to our grieving community.
不管市長是否有罪，這都不會給我們悲傷的社區帶來安慰。
Because so many students are living the nightmare of "not knowing what to do" because a teacher they loved is gone.
因為太多的學生生活在“不知道該做什麼”的噩夢中，因為他們所愛的老師已經離開了。
