Jessica Ward, Special to the USA TODAY NETWORK Published 4:18 a.m. ET July 23, 2020

I am a 28-year-old teacher in a small, middle-class district in Bergen County. I have an amazing toddler and husband who are my everything. I have my dream job teaching Special Education students 15 minutes from home. I have a lovely home and I am probably the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. I grew up in New Jersey, attended a small New Jersey state school and planned to spend the majority of my days teachingNew Jersey studentsin the Garden State.

But now, as COVID-19 has uprooted the lives of so many myself included, I did something today that I did not anticipate myself doing for another 10 to 15 years. My husband, another educator, and I updated our wills. We left our little boy as our beneficiary and outlined the details of what his life should look like if COVID-19 happens to claim one or both of our lives. I cannot imagine leaving my little boy all alone in this world but that is the fate that our state is pushing for.

Coronavirus update: NJ to allow for remote learning when schools reopen

For subscribers: Exclusive: NJ teachers union head says it's not safe to open schools in September | Mike Kelly

Despite the scientific fact that COVID-19 is again becoming severe and seemingly returning for a second round, the push has materialized for students and teachers to return to school. Yes, there are parents who have vowed not to send their children back until its safe. But, there is still a large number of New Jersey residents who need students to return to school, despite the fact that it essentially means sending students and teachers into a petri dish with a small chance that their kid or their kids teacher could contract the virus. Parents who supposedly would die for their kids are begging and pleading to send them back to school because of this need to work mentality created by an economy before human lives mindset orchestrated by President Donald Trump.

Its amazing to me that even a state such as New Jersey, which is supposedly a Democratic state, has fallen subject to the Trump agenda. Why is it that we are marching our children back into a situation akin to a game ofRussian roulette? Why are we willing to accept that some children will indeed die rather than pushing our government to send stimulus and support to allow us to stay home and keep our families safe?

I dont care what the percentage is; if you told me that if I sent my son into any building, hed have any chance of dying or getting extremely sick, he wouldnt be there not for any reason in the world.

And if your mindset is anything but that, maybe you need to reassess what it means to be an effective parent, because anyone whos lost a child or loved one to COVID-19 or any other ailment can tell you that there is no greater pain and that they would do anything to bring that person back.

Is the risk really worth the gamble?

Jessica Ward lives in Hackensack.

Read or Share this story: https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/2020/07/23/nj-coronavirus-teachers-add-updating-wills-to-back-to-school-to-do-list/5482317002/

See the article here:

NJ teachers add updating wills to back-to-school to-do list amid pandemic | Opinion - NorthJersey.com