Dave Grohl took time to empathize with parents and slam what he feels is President Trump's lack of pandemic leadership when discussing the fate of children forced back to school while Covid-19 continues to rage on. Grohl, whose mother is a retired teacher, spoke frankly in the debut edition of his Dave's True Stories audio series, explaining, “Teachers are also confronted with a whole new set of dilemmas that most people would not consider. There’s so much more to be addressed than just opening the doors and sending (children) back home, my mother tells me on the phone.”
He went on to say, “Now 82 and retired, she runs down a list of concerns based on her 35 years of experience: Masks and distancing, temperature checks, crowded bussing, crowded hallways, sports, air-conditioning systems, lunchrooms, public restrooms, janitorial staff. Most schools already struggle from a lack of resources. How can they possibly afford the mountain of safety measures that will need to be in place? I can only imagine if my mother would now be forced to return to a stuffy, windowless classroom.”
Grohl spoke about the Catch-22 of children needing to be among their peers, and parents desperately needing to provide for their family by leaving the home to work: “Working class and single parents dealing with the logistical problem of balancing jobs with the children at home. . . Remote learning is an inconvenient and hopefully temporary solution, but as much as Donald Trump’s conductor-less orchestra would love to see the country reopen schools in the name of rosy optics, ask a science teacher what they think about White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany‘s comment that 'Science should not stand in the way.' It would be foolish to do so at the expense of our students, teachers and school.”
