As a high school dropout and self-proclaimed “terrible student,” Dave Grohl is the last person you’d expect to defend teachers caught up in the contentious debate of reopening schools amid the pandemic.
But the Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer did exactly that.
Why? Because his own mother was a public school teacher.
In an essay published in The Atlantic, which was also released in an audio version on the Foo Fighters’ Soundcloud, Grohl spoke out in support of moves to continue remote learning for the upcoming school year because of the risk the coronavirus poses to countless teachers and educators, like his mom.
Grohl’s mother is now 82 and retired, but when she worked as a teacher “she tirelessly devoted her life to the service of others, both at home and at work,” Grohl wrote.
“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. All this while working multiple jobs to supplement her meagre $35,000 annual salary,” he added.
The 51-year-old singer went on to describe his mother’s dedication to being an “engaging educator,” recalling the moments he would bump into her former students who would share stories of how she was a mentor to them and greatly impacted their lives.
