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Library

Elizabeth Shaw

Location:

Remote

Recorded by

Liam McBain

Listen to full interview
Full interview, track 1
Full interview, track 1
Full interview, track 2
Full interview, track 3
Clips from this interview:
Faculty Outcry
Admin Retribution
Disbelief
Uncertainty
Summary:

This interview with Elizabeth Shaw was conducted remotely via Zoom on November 13, 2020. This is the third interview with Elizabeth, a librarian and educator at a Jewish elementary school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Elizabeth begins the interview describing many ways that her teaching set-ups have changed at her school since it reopened. After an outbreak of COVID-19 at the school, the administration expected teachers to come back within days. Many, including Elizabeth, stayed home and/or 'sicked out,' causing tension with the school administrators. Elizabeth said that due to this and other actions of admin, morale among teachers has been very low, with many wanting to close the school and/or wanting to leave after the end of the year. She spoke about mental illness, exhaustion, her grief of the recent death of her grandmother, and the pandemic's limitations on family support. Elizabeth talked quite a bit about the political situation in the U.S., the new homeless shelters on the Upper West Side, and teaching their students to their values.

Themes:
Leadership
,
Problem solving
,
Politics
,
Loss
,
Teachers
,
Elections
,
Mental health
,
Interviewer Bio:

Liam McBain is an associate producer for NPR's It's Been a Minute. He's also on a mission to read 100 books this year.

Additional Info:
Interview language(s):
English
Audio quality:
Medium

Audio Quality Scale

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Medium - There is background noise, but the narrator is audible.

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