First week back 2020
This is the mask provided by the state. I’m curious if any medical professional would recommend I wear this as my only protection from a COVID-19 positive student?
Every teacher remembers moments from their first- year teaching. My first day in 2009 was teaching 7th grade Texas history. I left exhausted but excited for the school year and what would come. Each school year I get excited to meet new students and improve my craft. However, 2020 was the worst first week of school I have ever experienced, and on Friday night I was contemplating leaving in December.
The first two weeks of the school year begin online in my district. The first school day was an example of Murphy’s Law. The district server went down. Many parents and students didn’t know passwords had been reset. Students and parents were confused about the online schedule. I made it worse by sending a confusing email and accidentally deleted another teacher’s Schoology class. I knew it was bad when a teacher with more experience than me was ready to walk out of the building before noon. Parents and teachers were given a week to adjust to the new plan. It was obvious this was not enough time. This was not just my school. I know there are plenty of teachers who experienced a horrible first day with online learning.
The week did get better. Interactions with Schoology were happening more smoothly. However, the first week of school should be focused on building relationships. I have never been in a situation where I had to build a relationship solely online. In the spring, relationships were well established. This year, I have students who will never enter the school building. I tried to be creative and realistic as possible about getting to know my students. I started with a long student survey on a google form so I could have a list of basic interest my students had. Then I created my first Flipgrid assignment. Students were able to share their favorite color or anything they enjoyed doing. I was able to see their faces and learned more about them in a low-risk environment. I was able to see more faces in Flipgrid responses than my Zooms for the week. Flipgrid was my highlight for the week, and I will be incorporated more throughout this school year.
Online learning is synonymous with Zoom since the pandemic started, and it is an expectation we use it in my district. Zoom is an extremely high-risk environment for students. I don’t force students to show their face because school is now in their home. Not every student has a quiet space or a room they want others to see. Children have a right to privacy, and it should be respected by their teachers. My first zoom was focused on creating a class community. I’m not big into ice breakers, but I attended a professional development that taught me about wheeldecide.com. It embeds into Schoology, and I think it will be useful for things all year long. Students were given a question to answer by what number the wheel stopped. Kids were having fun in the chat responding to their classmate’s answers. My students haven’t been in a school building since March. If my students want to be silly and not offensive in the chat, I’m going to let them. Too many schools want to police students on zoom. I want children to remain connected to other children as much as possible. I learned so much from the students who participated. However, I had less than 10% of my students participate in my zooms. My school is asynchronous so zoom meetings aren’t required. I’m hoping my zoom turnout will increase throughout the school year and I will work on building a class community through it.
Internet access is an equity issue, and I’m not going to pretend it didn’t affect my ability to hear from all my students the first week of school. This pandemic has only shined a big light on the problems of the American society. Universal internet access is needed right now, and I understand that many rural districts don’t even have the option. This is not a problem the schools should have to solve by themselves. However, I won’t let that stop me from contacting students. I’m a big believer in calling parents. A couple of my students were having password problems, and I was able to fix them. I left messages on several parents’ cell phone, and their child logged in later that day. Very few of my students did their assignments the first week. I’m well aware the internet is not every families’ main concern. It is my opinion that teachers can’t fix all of societies’ problems. I’m going to do my best to make sure online learning is possible for all my students.
I am also blessed to work at a school that is trying to bridge the internet gap. My school is providing Chromebooks and hotspots. My school is also working on helping parents navigate online learning. A parent who doesn’t know how to use a computer shouldn’t be judged. There are many jobs that don’t require internet and schools need to acknowledge many parents will need help with a computer and navigating a learning management system. The earlier we are able to help them could mean better learning results for their child. My school is planning on have night zoom sessions with students and parents. I’m hoping to find out if internet or communication is the main barrier to students doing their work. If you are going to online learning please advocate helping parents.
My biggest frustration with the first week of school has been that it is painfully obvious the state hasn’t provided enough PPE for students and teachers. Each week we are provided with something new and told to wait for other items. All the keyboard warriors on the internet will scream about the European countries opening schools back up. Those countries have lower rates of infection than Texas. Outdoor classrooms are possible when the heat index is not over 100. All the desks in my classroom will not have shields. There will be no temperature checks going into the building. Many of my students don’t have insurance and will unlikely get tested. Teachers know Tylenol will be used to hide a fever. I don’t blame working parents for the government’s refusal to make corporations allow employees to take sick days. Many politicians and school boards have decided to take risks that will lead to illness and death. Teachers are being made sacrificial lambs for the economy.
I left completely defeated by the end of the week, but I remember nothing last forever. This pandemic will not last forever. I’m going to try to keep my students and myself as safe as possible, but I know that it is not safe for schools to open without a vaccine. Teaching is what I do, and I will get through this by having realistic expectations for this school year and pray for the best. I’m going to make mistakes and decisions will be made based on keeping my sanity intact. Don’t be ashamed if your first week of online teaching is a dumpster fire. Teaching in a pandemic is hard.
