As some students in Ontariohave already returned to schooland others prepare to go back next week, teachers across the province have been sharing photos of their classrooms to prove just how unsafe the situation really is.

Ontario's educators have been using social media as a tool to disprove what Premier Ford and Education Minister Lecce have been touting as "the best plan in the country" by posting photos of classrooms with desks in close proximity.

This is my classroom setup for this year. 25 grade 7s. Who gets the middle seats@Sflecce? Who sits way back in the corner, where there’s no room for a chair@fordnation? This is what an#UnsafeSeptemberlooks like.@ETFOeducatorspic.twitter.com/c1LOZGRm1l

— Angie (@RaisingMyBoyz)September 1, 2020

The images show classes with upwards of 20 desks, many of which are placed far less than two metres apart and appear to leave little to no space for social distancing.

Newsflash, our students here in Ontario will be sitting as close together as they always did as well. Here’s my classroom, 29 desks waiting for students.pic.twitter.com/8RrLxNaYTm

— Chris Forde (@Forde_Chris1)September 4, 2020

"I managed to squeeze in 34 desks. There's no distancing. There's no way it's up to fire code. But@fordnation@Sfleccesay we have the 'best plan in the country' and the 'lowest class sizes'. Uh huh,"wrote one Ontario teacher on Twitteralong with a photo of his crowded classroom.

"We can't even distance in the hallways. There will be 1200 students in this building starting September 8."

My colleague’s grade 8 classroom in TVDSB.
“Here's my Grade 8 classroom. 26 desks. 5cm is about as much "distance" we are going to get around here...ironically, there are stickers on the floor by my sink for hand washing saying to keep 2m apart ♀️”@etfopresident#UnsafeSeptemberpic.twitter.com/xleU8UsQxY

— Kathleen Décosse (@decosse_k)September 2, 2020

The province has encouraged teachers to do everything possible to arrange classrooms in a way that allows for distancing, including by removing unnecessary furniture and placing desks at least one (elementary and middle school) or two ( high school) metres apart.

But for many of Ontario's teachers, small classrooms along with large class sizes mean this simply isn't possible.

Hey@sflecce&@fordnation

I fit 24 desks w/ 1m spacing!

No room for a teacher desk, learning centre, library, quiet table, smartboard, art centre but we can manage.

The problem? There are 28 kids (currently) on my roster.#UnsafeSeptember#onted

Here’s my class@maritstilespic.twitter.com/PBG3iqQp8G

— Mr. Cannon (@MrCannon_19)September 2, 2020

Lecce and Fordhave been fighting with educators and parentssince the back-to-school discussion began earlier this summer, with class sizes being one of the top concerns expressed by teachers' unions.

The governmentdid introduce targeted fundingto help schools open safely, including allowing boards to dip into reserve funds and providing money to hire more teachers, but teachers' unions and school boards have said it's simply not enough to ensure a safe September.

On top of that, the premier and education ministerhave chosen to attack teachers for demanding a better plan, calling them "complainers" and saying they're creating problems where there are none.

I guess I’m a complainer then, because I don’t think that only having the room to space my student’s desks 60cm apart in my classroom is acceptable. We are told we need to keep a 2m distance EVERYWHERE else in Ontario. Why not in schools?@fordnation@Sfleccepic.twitter.com/Cys28M4vVM

— Tea Cup Teacher (@CupTeacher)September 4, 2020

这两个也posed for photo opsin classrooms where desks are spread out with plenty of space in between them, but Ontario teachers have been quick to point out that this simply isn't the reality in most schools.

The reality....#UnsafeSeptemberON#LyingLeccepic.twitter.com/9GULURkEPd

— Louise (@LouiseSquish)September 4, 2020

"Thirty or more kids crammed into one small classroom wasn't ok before the pandemic when Mr. Ford was cutting teachers and education workers and hiking class sizes," said NDP leader Andrea Horwath of the decision not to cap class sizes back in August.

"Now, it's downright dangerous."