Maple Valley, Washington
With national leadership urging schools to reopen this fall despite rising cases of COVID-19, classroom teachers are facing bewildering choices. Already undervalued, teachers are weighing the dangers of in-person instruction against the effectiveness of online learning, with little certainty about either. Students are isolated, parents are exhausted, school districts are scrambling to make responsible decisions, yet teachers themselves are being asked to carry most of this burden, risking their lives and their families’ lives to do their jobs. Even a superhero would be daunted. As we approach the start of the 2020 academic year, we asked U.S. K-12 teachers to tell us how they’re feeling and how they’re planning for the year ahead.
I keep hearing these commonly uttered phrases, swirling in my brain.
“It can’t be like it was this spring.”
From parents concerned about remote teaching this fall wanting to make sure that their students don’t fall further behind. From district personnel vowing that this fall’s remote learning will be better. I’ve even said them a few times.
“Educators have been working tirelessly this summer to make sure this fall has improved.”
But now I feel like a slacker.
It’s not that I don’t want to be figuring out how to do this right. It’s this push and pull between what will I be required to do and what will I be allowed to do? At this moment, I don’t know either.
True, last spring, we closed suddenly, and how will we adjust?
“Oh, not that way.”
You see, some students have parents out of work, so they’re working during normal schooling time. Your lessons must be available asynchronously. Some have faulty internet connections. Some have to help their younger siblings to understand their school work. And if they interact anytime during the week, you need to mark them present.
Okay, got it. So, I’ll…
“Oh, not that way.”
You see, some students have more difficulty learning in the remote environment, so we’re not going to give traditional letter grades. We’re giving either an A or an Incomplete. (And then later, not even Incomplete.)
Okay, got it. So, I’ll…
“Oh, not that way.”
And so the merry-go-round seemed to endlessly spin. Some we didn’t find out until weeks before school let out, after having operated the weeks before under a different mindset.
But this fall will be better.
“We are doing synchronous learning for the whole school day.”
Did students stop working during school time? Did student internet access improve? Do students no longer need to help their younger siblings?
Okay, got it. So, I’ll…
“And we’re doing traditional letter grades.”
Did our students who struggled with online learning stop struggling in that modality?
“And we’re doing…”
“Oh, not that way.”
“And we’re doing…”
What could I have planned?
I did a lot of thinking this summer, a lot of soul searching. Our governor has given us health metrics recommended before the high school hybrid, and our numbers aren’t close. Despite this, our district plans as if there might be a hybrid in six weeks. So much of our time, energy, and resources went into what the hybrid would/could/should look like. The remote?
Because we’re dividing students into separate hybrid and remote cohorts, I don’t know what courses I’m teaching. Ten days from now.
I know what I want to do. I don’t know what I can do.
“It can’t be like it was this spring.”
It won’t be like it was this spring. But will it really be better?
I just don’t see how.
Patrick Van Dyke is a National Board Certified high school math teacher in Bellevue, Washington. Previously, he has been published in I EIGHT THE SANDBOX. He is an expert-level chess player and a self-admitted Disneyholic.