Two days after crossing off the last day of school, the feeling has not completely disappeared that the lesson plans, grading, research, and preparation–not to mention posting and parent/student communication—still hang precariously over any other option of activity. The fact that crossing days off a calendar proved necessary for the “light at the end of the tunnel” pretty much says it all. This school year is best viewed in the rearview.
Moving to a new place should have been enough of a change but accepting a teaching position during COVID begs testing. The red flags were flying high enough and in sufficient numbers to slap away any doubt of impending toils but getting back to the business of teaching proved to be a more formidable draw. COVID protocols and expectations—numerous and arbitrary, depending on the school—introduced the year, but the varying administrative decisions regarding modes of teaching, class composition, and even the number of class days highlighted the school year’s tragic unfolding.
The principal determined teachers should teach students in-person and online at the same time. Forget the fact that most teachers had never taught students online, adding an in-person addition created problems most should have seen coming. There was also an assumption that technology would cooperate. New faculty would face new students in a new school with inconsistent technology and faulty equipment. Try three weeks with a computer and SMART board that did not work, constantly working between a personal computer to keep the virtual students online, while engaging the students in class. It was not pretty.
Around September, administration decided that the teachers needed a better plan…a hybrid plan. Classes would be split in half, with each coming into the building only two days a week; the other two days would be asynchronous learning—lessons posted online for students to complete on their own. This gem of an idea required two classrooms for each subject, meaning ten classes for teachers with five classes. It also required teachers—if they wanted to have a fighting chance at student understanding—to create videos for the asynchronous lessons. This required five videos per day, not to mention making sure that classes were kept straight for lesson posting, as the asynchronous days flipped half-week. In other words, our already double-full-time workload was doubled again.
This is where the work/home balance (a perilous concept in a normal year) took a hit. Teachers pride themselves on being organized and prepared. To maintain this standard, this new “system” required working all the time—all day, all evening, all weekend. To make matters worse, administration decided some of us were “overworked” and should take better care of ourselves. The fact that administration contributed a substantial burden of this condition was lost on them. Instead of establishing a supportive community where teachers could focus on creating multiple learning environments during a less-than-favorable year and administration might stand as defenders of teachers’ professional choices, administration seemed resolved to make haphazard decisions based on everything but academics, eliminating consideration of teachers’ welfare and opinions—not to mention others’ perceptions–from every conceivable angle, from parents to students to colleagues.
By March, a “new” plan emerged: students would all come in person for the remainder of the school year. Teachers were thrilled; finally, a chance at a normal environment. Sadly, this concept disappeared as fast as it was relayed. Students and parents were given the option of remaining virtual. While the classes were able to return to five, they were in-person and online at the same time. After the year of ten classes, this was a welcome change, nonetheless. The year finished more “normal” than before but still without the academic opportunities teachers employ in a regular year.
With the constant changes, we lost a couple of teachers early in the year, but why did most teachers stay? We persisted because of students and teacher professionalism (although there were moments of thinking, “I’m out of here.”). The students always suffer or prosper from the determinations of the school, and no child deserves to be abandoned during any year, much less this type of year. While teachers endure a lack of respect from some, they are professionals who deal with the academic, social, emotional, and psychological needs of all their students. A typical day involves teaching, mentoring students, recess/lunch duty, parent conferences, parent/student written communication, behavior modifications, and grading. Teachers also plan parties, complete psychological evaluations, learning evaluations—and have been known to purchase items students need. Adequately capturing all a teacher’s sense of duty and responsibilities would be a nearly unattainable endeavor.
It is over, and many of us will not return next year. COVID wreaked havoc on multiple areas of our lives, but it also exposed significant issues in our education system. These are not revelations to those who deliver the education; we have known about them for some time.
Part 1 of 4 Series
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Part 2: Students Are Children and They Will Act Accordingly
Quote of the Day: “Every child deserves a champion–an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best they could possibly be.” Rita Pierson
Designs on Life 