Corona School 2.0: Beginning the School Year in a Pandemic
When I asked this past summer what blog post ideas my followers wanted to see me write about, several mentioned wanting to know what it would be like for teachers during this strange school year. So I decided to compile my thoughts for them, but also for myself…so that I don’t forget what this experience is like! First, even though there are some pretty desperate situations in the state of SC, I know I work in one of the best school districts on the planet. Our administrators and school board have done a remarkable job planning for everyone’s safety and needs, and we already have top-notch technology for teachers and students. Second, everyone has their own experience and level of comfort with what is happening, and these are just my thoughts. There are definitely some concerns, but there are also a some bright spots that I am trying to recognize and celebrate.
A Brief Description:
I am currently teaching 6th Grade Language Arts in a hybrid model. I have two groups of students: A Day students come on M/W, and B Day students come on T/Th. Because my classes are split between days, my largest group has thirteen students, and my smallest has six. Students are required to social distance when traveling through the halls (there are even dots on the floor to help them space themselves out), and desks are spaced out six feet apart in rows in our classrooms. Each each desk has a plastic shield (I call my kids fish in bubbles, because it looks like I am looking at them from outside of a fish bowl!). When students are seated, they can remove their masks, but some choose not to, and I respect that choice. I have to teach from the front of the room, 6 feet away from them, wearing a shield. When I get closer to them, I am supposed to wear my mask as well. We are not supposed to spend more than 15 minutes in a one-on-one or small group setting with others, even wearing a mask/shield. We cannot share materials, and even library books have to be quarantined for 24 hours before another student can check them out.
My Observations:
Wearing a mask hasn’t been that bad, but wearing a mask AND a shield during transitions and when I have to be in close proximity to my students is hard. I am also always always looking through a glare, and when I speak, there is a pretty loud echo! I have come home every day with a headache…not because of lack of oxygen, just from having two things constantly touching and covering my face and the bridge of my nose.
I am struggling to understand students speaking from behind a mask. Their voices are muffled, and because I am such a visual learner, not seeing their lips move makes it difficult for my brain to process what they are saying. I am constantly having to lean toward them with my ear and ask them to “say that again, please?”
I’m struggling to get to know my kids. I only see them two days a week, and for half the time they are with me, most or all are masked. I am a very visual learner, so I have to see faces in order to get names right. I am seriously relying on my seating charts! This coming week, our team is going to have our students carry around nameplates to set up on their desks to help us learn their names.
Teaching the same lesson eight times (four times on A Day and four times on B Day) is exhausting. I get tired of hearing myself say the same things over and over, and sometimes I can’t remember if I have said something to my later classes because I’ve said it so often already!
Teaching my students how to navigate their virtual work has been a beast. I teach 6th grade, so many are not familiar with how to use email yet, and many haven’t used the tech tools we are using to set up their assignments. Some are struggling to simply type in a username/password correctly, and forget about remembering all the different ones they are assigned! Thankfully, our team has a username/password sheet that they can record all of their information on. Sometimes simply opening a file requires multiple steps, and that is really difficult for my kids (and their parents) who are not comfortable with technology. It would be so much easier for me to just show them how to do things on their iPads when they are with me, but even then, I am not really supposed to be touching any of their materials for fear of spreading germs. I know they’ll eventually get it, but these first weeks have been hard.
While I do not know this for sure, I think some of my students probably did little or nothing academically for the past 5 months, and their brains aren't ready to think this hard, this fast. I'm worried about getting them back into learning mode and possibly caught up from some skills they may have regressed in or missed. A few of my students assumed their at-home days would be exactly like this past Spring, and they're not. They are now being held accountable for attendance check-ins, completing assignments, and there will be grades. This is going to be a huge adjustment for them.
And speaking of accountability…there are rumors that our state is not going to give a waiver for standardized state testing again this year. Our district is using an awesome new assessment tool and program to identify their levels and help teachers figure out where their gaps are. But how will I possibly fill in all the gaps AND teach them all of their sixth grade content to mastery in time for state testing? I have to be the judge of what I can teach in this sort of environment and what I can just let go for now…even if the state doesn’t agree with me.
There are always the looming whens, what ifs, and hows. When/what if our numbers go up and we have to go into eLearning mode again? What about my students who are home alone and don’t have the support they need to get their assignments done on their home days? What if parents load their kids up on Tylenol and send them to school, knowing they might be sick, because of child care issues? What if one of my own children comes down with something and I have to quarantine for an extended amount of time? How will I take care of my own children and teach virtually from home at the same time and on the same schedule as my students in my classroom?
There are days when I come home so exhausted I can barely see, but then I still have to make sure my family is taken care of. Homework, dinner, bathtime, and reading before bed can’t just be put aside because I’m mentally and physically spent.
A Few Things to Celebrate:
Because of many of their eLearning experiences in the Spring, our students are becoming adept at following virtual instructions! I gave them an assignment to do after one of their assessments on the second and third days of school, and even though I did not have a chance to walk them through the assignment myself, they were able to watch the YouTube tutorial and complete their assignment very easily without help! They have gotten adept at watching, pausing, working, and replaying video tutorials when they need to.
I have a phenomenal student intern from a nearby university. She is helping me think through my lessons and revamp how we do them to suit the needs of our students during this time period, and so many of her ideas have been amazing! We have to be creative in order to change up the way I have always done things, and having a younger brain to collaborate with is such a great thing!
The group of teachers I work with are closer than ever. We’re sharing this burden, problem-solving, sharing lessons and tricks, lifting each other up, and trying to keep each other laughing and smiling through the day. I am so grateful for such amazing colleagues! I have no idea how I would be doing this without them.
So far, parents have been overwhelmingly patient and understanding! I’ve received several messages of support and even some special deliveries from the Amazon prime delivery guy from my Classroom Wish list!
Google. Being able to share docs, slides with my students and their families from my Google Drive is so much easier this way! What would we ever do without this brilliant innovation?!?
YouTube. There are a zillion and one videos already created that are so useful for me and my students. And when I can’t find one, I can make one myself! I even started a YouTube channel of my own to more easily share video tutorials with my students and their families, as well as other teachers who might need lessons for their classes. Check it out!
I keep telling my students to REMEMBER THIS. We are living through a huge, historical moment. When they have kids, they can tell them the story of what it was like to start school in the midst of a global pandemic and how strange it was. But it is a moment. It won’t be like this forever, and we are learning things now that will make us better teachers, students, and people in the long run, if we allow ourselves to learn from it!
