I have been teaching for 27 years and never has a year been more challenging or stranger than this one. Here are a few things I thought I would mention.
1. It is not the what, it's the who- More than ever I need to focus on the people not the objects (like iPads and books) . We can efficiently toss an iPad in their hands but if we do not check and see how they are doing, we have given them a procrastination device not a learning tool. And focusing on the person is for all aspects of life. Rather than feeling frustrated at all I cannot do, I am focusing on the people in my life. Building strong relationships (virtually of course) so when this is over I have someone left to celebrate with :)
2. While we have always worked on WHAT to teach, the winners in this game will be those who focus on HOW to learn. We could have a transformational year if we all focused on soft skills that last a lifetime such as time management, task initial and self control. We are simply asking too much of students. For years they have been micro- managed with someone standing over them to put the phone away, open the book, get your pencil out. Now suddenly they sit alone in a room and we expect them to magically have skills of a CEO such as running 8 different projects (classes) at once. We are frustrating everyone- student, teacher and parent. And how much learning is really occurring? I am not trying to be negative, I am trying to be realistic and acknowledge that if ever there was a time for reflection and root cause- now is the time. Look at what is happening and why it is happening. Try to solve the root cause and we will come out of this with self-starter students who can take on anything.
3. Teaching to the void is REALLY weird. I understand there are sound reasons to let students learn with their camera off and microphone muted. But also understand that it is really hard to monitor understanding with zero feedback. I had no idea how much a relied on non-verbal feedback until I had none. And in the meantime my camera is on and I try not to show the desperation in my face as I wait for someone, anyone to say something, anything. I do not know if there is much of a solution for this other than trying to build community and trust enough that a few students turn their camera on.
Finally- if you know of any decision maker in education- please pass this along. This is my open letter of what it takes for successful face to face instruction. (Pasted Below)
If I could get a decision maker to listen to what it takes for successful face to face instruction, here is what I would tell them:
Be firm with families and remind them often what it takes for schools to remain open
Here is an example of what you could say: If you want schools to remain open remember everyone in the household needs to make good choices 24/7 not just while in school. This message should be tweeted, emailed, announced, and done so weekly at a minimum. The message of being a COMMUNITY has never been more important. It is about priorities. If we all truly want schools open safely, everyone needs to be on the same page, at school, after school and on the weekends.
Be innovative. The best solutions to this unprecedented scenario will not look anything like what we have done before. It is more important than ever to have a clear vision and use that vision to make a successful plan. Here is an example: Our number one goal is to educate not to provide child care. So we must look at this as the best way to provide education in a SUSTAINABLE way. It might be remote learning. This on again, off again, start and stop filled with quarantines is very ineffective. Also- fair is not always equal. We need to see who needs in person the most and do everything we can to provide for those students. It should not be “open for all or open for none”- clearly priority should be given to those struggling academically and emotionally.
Science should drive decision making. For example- what are the most dangerous parts of a school day? Eating lunch with no masks. Therefore if you want the face to face to be successful do half days with bag lunches that students take home. Also face to face time should be shorter. Viral load has a lot to do with catching this. So either have true cohorts like you could in an elementary class or have short class but these so-called cohorts with teachers teaching six different rosters and students attending 8 different mixed classes do not set us up for successful in-person learning.
Ask for teacher and parent input- Don’t just listen to the squeaky wheel. So many of these decisions are made by people who are not living it day by day. Here is the latest example- Parents were told the students could choose whether they attend in person or not. They can choose class by class if they want to come to school or be remote. The teacher has no idea who might be there any given period. There are teachers planning face to face instruction only to have one student show up for class and the rest to be remote. This totally changes the lesson. Teachers are told to be flexible without any consideration to how “being flexible” every single period of every single day can create exhaustion and set them up for lessons not to feel successful. It is more important than ever to make decisions that support everyone, including teachers.
Communicate sincere information not positive platitudes
Here is an example: When the county moves to orange and teachers are told this will
change the quarantine process and teachers ask how will it change and the answer is- we need to be flexible and see how it plays out. No- there should be a clear plan already in place. In order for us to feel safe we need to know thought is going into all of the scenarios.
Don’t punish teachers for asking questions. Everyone should feel safe to understand the process and what is happening. When you use phrases like- “you have a choice- you can resign” you are creating a threatening atmosphere rather than one of trust. (Not to mention- our choice is leave of absence so using the term resign is definitely not coming from a place of support.)
Avoid hypocrisy - Related to the communication that because of rising cases, parents and students can choose to stay remote. But teachers can’t make that choice. To me the unstated message is - teachers you take the risk but students don’t have to.
