meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Daily

A Messy Return to School in New York

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.4102.8K Ratings

🗓️ 18 September 2020

⏱️ 33 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Iolani Grullon teaches dual-language kindergarten in Washington Heights in New York City, where she has worked for the last 15 years. She, like many colleagues, is leery about a return to in-person instruction amid reports of positive coronavirus cases in other schools. “I go through waves of anxiety and to being hopeful that it works out to just being worried,” she told our editor Lisa Chow. On top of mixed messaging from the city about the form teaching could take, her anxiety is compounded by a concern that she might bring the coronavirus home to her daughter, whose immune system is weaker as a result of an organ transplant. Today, we look at how one teacher’s concerns in the lead up to the first day back illustrates issues around New York City’s reopening of public schools. Guest: Lisa Chow, an audio editor for The New York Times, speaks to a kindergarten teacher in New York City. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading: New York City was scheduled to reopen public schools on Monday. Mayor Bill de Blasio this week delayed the start of in-person instruction.Nearly 40 percent of parents have opted to have their children learn fully remotely through at least the first few months of the school year. That number reflects the deep divide among the city’s families about how to approach in-person learning.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is a paid advertisement from BetterHelp Therapy Online.

0:04.7

When you're at your best, you can do great things, but you can't be at the top of your

0:09.2

game all the time.

0:10.8

Working with a therapist can get you closer to the best version of you.

0:14.9

BetterHelp can provide access to over a thousand mental health professionals with a wide variety

0:19.4

of expertise.

0:21.0

Get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com slash daily pod.

0:26.0

From New York Times, I'm Michael Bobaro.

0:33.0

This is Daily.

0:39.7

We're full steam ahead for September.

0:41.8

The goal, of course, to have the maximum number of kids in our schools as we begin schools.

0:48.2

Amid a raging national debate over how to safely reopen schools, the nation's largest

0:54.8

public school system, New York City, has pledged to let every student return to the classroom,

1:01.4

citing months of low infection rates.

1:04.6

Nothing replaces the in-person experience.

1:07.6

There are some out there who suggest that remote education should be our future, and

1:12.7

I want to say no, it can't be.

1:14.8

But from the start, it's been a messy process.

1:18.8

Families are deeply divided about whether to send their children to school for two to

1:23.6

three days a week, what the city is calling blended learning, or to opt for fully remote

1:30.2

learning.

1:31.2

I don't see enough information for me to make a decision yet.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The New York Times, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The New York Times and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.