Week 4 of hybrid school is complete. People ask me, “Is it getting better?” Without hesitating, I answer, “No.”
I have little faith that this situation will ever get
better. Just imagine being in two places at once, using technology that is
unfamiliar, questioning your every decision, predicting the outcome for every assignment,
and still trying to bring some joy of learning to 90 teenagers. It is an
impossible situation.
At the beginning of each school year, teachers put in many
overtime hours for which we are never compensated. We recognize that and still
do it, but usually by week 4, we can take a deep breath and relax a little. Not
in 2020.
Two weekends ago, I worked 10 hours preparing to be out the
following Friday. I had planned a weekend at the beach with my friends that
would make up for the Alaskan cruise Covid took from us. This weekend, I will
work at least 10 hours grading all the work I had to assign so I could miss one
day. Is that how every weekend will be? Most of my colleagues do the same
thing. We can’t keep up this pace.
“Just don’t assign the work. Then you won’t have to grade
it.” That would be swell, but teaching doesn’t work like that. Parents are quick to judge
and condemn if the rigor of our classes isn’t there. My students can’t afford
to “waste” a day since we are already a week behind our college partner. The
students have to take standardized tests to decide if we are teaching the
standards. We can’t take time off.
Now about parents – I have the best parents ever mainly
because they leave me alone. They must trust me to teach their kids to write. I
don’t know. Maybe it’s my old age and experience, but I’m lucky. Some of my
colleagues aren’t. In some Zoom classes, parents are watching, listening and
recording to find reasons to complain about what/how the teacher is handling
the class. One teacher used a short clip
from a program on NPR to add to her lesson. A parent complained that the
teacher was using the class as her own political platform. So much for adding current
events to a lesson. I value parental input but right now, we don’t need an arm-chair
quarterback or back-seat driver.
Now about the students – They are phenomenal. I can’t
say often enough how great mine are. They are attentive and get their work done,
mostly on time. I know I’m blessed because my students are more mature
(seniors) and smart (dual enrollment). I often remind them that they chose to be
in this class; therefore, I expect a lot from them. My Zoomers are very
understanding of my lack of maneuvering all the screen shares and internet glitches.
After I had a heart-to-heart with my students about my insecurities, I got the
sweetest text from a Zoomer.
Like I said, I’m blessed because most of my students are
just like this person. However, many of my friends have the opposite with their
students. Some students haven’t attended Zoom classes but a couple of times
because of connectivity issues, imagined or real. Teachers have been Zoom
hacked by anonymous people logging in using very inappropriate names which
might be visible to the other students. Some hackers have gotten into classes
and played explicit songs or yelled profanities before being removed from the
group.
Now that we are 4 weeks in, people are getting sick. I have
several students who are quarantined at home because of a positive test or
exposure. Covid is encroaching, and it’s only a matter of time before more
kids/teachers get sick. We all know it’s coming and that’s the dark cloud that
hangs over any pleasure of being in the classroom.
The days are not fun anymore. I like my students, but I don’t
know them. I wouldn’t recognize any of them because I see only their eyes or an
image on a screen. I try to find joy in little things, like the student who wore a marquee mask, but those little things don't lessen the constant worry or the daily tears my colleagues cry at the beginning of each day.
It's not getting any better.
