Dave Grohl might not be the first person you think of when talking about schools this fall. The Foo Fighters frontman is surprisingly passionate about the subject. He penned a passionate essay for The Atlantic on the issue of reopening schools. It's also available in audio form, narrated by Dave on the band's SoundCloud page.
Dave is a self-proclaimed "terrible student," but he has a special tie to the public school system. Dave's mom, Virginia Grohl, is a retired public school teacher. Though she's now 82 years old and retired, Dave framed what this decision would have been like for her. He does so in the context of all she did in her 35 years as a teacher.
In sharing his belief that this could be a matter of life or death, Dave echoes the concerns of many. The concerns for the health and safety of teachers and students are only natural in a situation where there's still so much we don't know. He asks readers to consider what they would do for their favorite teacher, whether it's someone whose student you've been or a member of your own family.
Dave Grohl has proven to be an incredible writer. Through his music, storytelling, and shared essays, Dave has shown he has a deep, thoughtful, and fun way of expressing himself outside of his rock star persona.
In a new essay for The Atlantic, Dave opens up about growing up with his mom, a public school teacher. He shares why that experience fills him with concerns about teachers heading back to the classroom in a few short weeks.
Dave begins the essay in a self-deprecating fashion. He admits school wasn't his wheelhouse and cops to dropping out in 11th grade. While education wasn't his passion, it was his mother's. Virginia Grohl was a public school teacher for 35 years.
"As a single mother of two, she tirelessly devoted her life to the service of others, both at home and at work. From rising before dawn to ensure that my sister and I were bathed, dressed, and fed in time to catch the bus to grading papers well into the night, long after her dinner had gone cold, she rarely had a moment to herself," Dave recalled.
While she was dedicated, Dave grew up knowing teachers were underpaid and underappreciated.
"All this while working multiple jobs to supplement her meager $35,000 annual salary. Bloomingdale's, Servpro, SAT prep, GED prep — she even once coached soccer for a $400 stipend, funding our first family trip to New York City, where we stayed at the St. Regis Hotel and ordered drinks at its famous King Cole Bar so that we could fill up on the free hors d'oeuvres we otherwise could not afford," Dave shared.
Some teachers do this just to make ends meet, but Virginia had a real dedication to reaching her students.
"Never one to just point at a blackboard and recite lessons for kids to mindlessly memorize, she was an engaging educator, invested in the well-being of each and every student who sat in her class. And at an average of 32 students a class, that was no small feat," he recalled.
"She was one of those teachers who became a mentor to many, and her students remembered her long after they had graduated, often bumping into her at the grocery store and erupting into a full recitation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, like a flash mob in the produce aisle. I can't tell you how many of her former students I've met over the years who offer anecdotes from my mother's classroom."
Dave believes that what his mom poured into her work is what teachers around the country do every day. He also believes that these are the kinds of teachers our kids deserve.
"Every kid should be so lucky to have that favorite teacher, the one who changes your life for the better. She helped generations of children learn how to learn, and, like most other teachers, exhibited a selfless concern for others," he wrote.
"Though I was never her student, she will forever be my favorite teacher."
Through not only his mom's experience but that of countless teachers he's met over the years, Dave knows the heart and selflessness that goes into the work.
"It takes a certain kind of person to devote their life to this difficult and often-thankless job. I know because I was raised in a community of them. I have mowed their lawns, painted their apartments, even babysat their children, and I'm convinced that they are as essential as any other essential workers," he noted.
"Over the years, I have come to notice that teachers share a special bond, because there aren't too many people who truly understand their unique challenges — challenges that go far beyond just pen and paper. Today, those challenges could mean life or death for some."
Knowing what he knows, Dave shifted to the issue at hand: the reopening of schools this fall.
"When it comes to the daunting — and ever more politicized — question of reopening schools amid the [health crisis], the worry for our children's well-being is paramount. Yet teachers are also confronted with a whole new set of dilemmas that most people would not consider," he wrote.
The topic has also been heavy on Virginia's mind. Now retired, she worries for those still in the field.
"'There's so much more to be addressed than just opening the doors and sending them back home,' my mother tells me over the phone," he shares.
"Now 82 and retired, she runs down a list of concerns based on her 35 years of experience: 'masks and distancing, temperature checks, crowded busing, crowded hallways, sports, air-conditioning systems, lunchrooms, public restrooms, janitorial staff.'"
"Most schools already struggle from a lack of resources; how could they possibly afford the mountain of safety measures that will need to be in place?" he asks.
"And although the average age of a schoolteacher in the United States is in the early 40s, putting them in a lower-risk group, many career teachers, administrators, cafeteria workers, nurses, and janitors are older and at higher risk. Every school's working faculty is a considerable percentage of its population, and should be safeguarded appropriately."
"I can only imagine if my mother were now forced to return to a stuffy, windowless classroom. What would we learn from that lesson? When I ask what she would do, my mother replies, 'Remote learning for the time being,'" he added.
Dave acknowledges that remote learning is not without its flaws. It puts families with working parents or single parents in a serious bind and exposes some of the inequities in learning we've failed to solve throughout the years.
"Every teacher has a 'plan.' Don't they deserve one too?" Dave asks.
"My mother had to come up with three separate lesson plans every single day (public speaking, AP English, and English 10), because that's what teachers do: They provide you with the necessary tools to survive. Who is providing them with a set of their own?"
"Until you have spent countless days in a classroom devoting your time and energy to becoming that lifelong mentor to generations of otherwise disengaged students, you must listen to those who have. Teachers want to teach, not die, and we should support and protect them like the national treasures that they are. For without them, where would we be?" he posed.
"May we show these tireless altruists a little altruism in return. I would for my favorite teacher. Wouldn't you?"
