It’s seems likely we’ll be going back to school in the fall. What exactly that will look like is anyone’s guess.
Early reports suggest that it may be a hybrid between online and in-school learning, with staggered start times and rotating schedules to limit both contact and the number of students to a room.
Students would eat lunch in their classroom, wear face masks, and maintain social distance throughout the day.
There would be hand washing and sanitizing stations around campus and new guidelines for cleanliness. Teachers would also wear face masks and the added protection of plastic shields.
It all sounds great to politicians and health professionals.
It makes perfect sense. As long as there is additional money to pay for equipment and transportation, problem solved. We’re back at school and everyone stays safe.
Hooray! Win-Win.
But to anyone who has been in the classroom longer than a week, it sounds like the coming apocalypse. It conjures images of rushing around trying to keep masks on 5 year olds—or 15 year olds—while somehow ensuring they stay six feet apart.
Also . . .
Are teachers expected to double plan, one day of lessons online and one day of lessons in school?
What happens if a student or teacher tests positive for coronavirus? Does the whole class quarantine?
How are teachers to understand students through their masks? And vice-versa?
Who will clean and sanitize desks and classrooms after each day or class period?
How will recess and PE look? Will students be able to take off their masks outside?
What about restrooms and getting students promptly in and out? Also, will they be cleaned after each use?
What about students who refuse to wear a mask? Or parents who won’t let them?
How can teachers be effective and sensitive to students if they can’t read their facial expressions?
Who will watch students while they’re at home and parents are working?
These are just some of the questions and concerns we’ve received from readers here at SCM. Reading through them, you can definitely sense immense frustration.
In fact, it seems the stress level is higher now than the first weeks of distance learning. It’s understandable. There is so much we don’t know, so many hows, whys, and what ifs.
But here’s the thing: It’s still early.
It does you no good to worry about things that may never come to pass. Furthermore, unless you’re in a position of leadership, it’s out of your hands.
One of the keys to avoiding stress is to not concern yourself with anything out of your control. I realize that we’re in a unique situation, with a lot out of your control.
However, as a reader of SCM and a follower of our strategies and practices, you have an advantage.
You see, with a strong classroom management plan, and the confidence in knowing that you can bring peace to your classroom no matter what comes your way, there is really nothing to worry about.
There may be adjustments to make once we’re on-site and the policy changes have gone into effect—like how best to communicate with students through a mask, for example, or whether maintaining social distance should be a class rule—which we’ll be sure to cover in future articles.
But understanding how to create, define, and defend air-tight boundaries of behavior that protect learning and free you to teach without interruption is enough to overcome any concern over policy changes.
This has been true since the first public schoolhouse opened in 1635 and is still true today.
In 30 years of teaching, I’ve seen a zillion new procedures, policies, and protocols come down the pike and not one of them has managed to shake the foundations of good solid classroom management.
Not one of them has been able to disrupt the love of being a teacher or the ability to build influential relationships with students. As long as we’re able to be in a physical classroom, I don’t foresee that changing.
The only threat I’ve seen within education in the past ten years has been the smattering of voices trying to rid schools of student accountability altogether.
But even this idea seems to have abated.
So as the rumors spread and possible policy changes get bandied about right up until report day in August, I’m going to do what I always do during the summer and suggest you do as well.
Enjoy your time off. Sleep in. Spend more time with family and good books (and bad TV). Have an adult beverage.
Because it’s all going to be okay.
PS – What are your biggest concerns going into next school year? Leave a comment below.
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One of my concerns is how to do a guided reading group and still maintain social distance. Another concern is that I do absolutely all of my instruction with kids on the carpet in proximity to me. How will that work? A third concern is turn and talk. Allowing students time to confer with each other throughout my interactive read aloud is vital. How will that work? Another concern is centers. while I do reading groups, the students work in groups of two or three with shared materials. That’s not going to work, is it? And then there are all the typical 2nd grade issues like lost teeth, comforting the crying children, having quiet talks as needed, and, of course, the hugs. And the way I begin everyday has to change. I greet each child with a warm handshake and a kind greeting and I look into their eyes to see if there’s something going on that I need to be aware of. I think I will miss that most of all.
As a second grade teacher, I share all of those concerns as well! And talking through a mask is problematic for me. I can’t imagine having a face shield on top of that. I think it is going to be very difficult for the students to hear me.
I used a voice amplifier (about 50$ on amazon). It has a speaker that I placed on the far side of the room. Hope this helps
Awesome! Can I borrow $50 to get one for myself?
Try Donors Choose. I bet you could get someone to buy one for your classroom along with a whole list of things you may need for next year. It’s a great source for getting others to pay for classroom supplies.
I agree with you about the masking. I can barely keep mine on during the few times we have been out. It’s hot and hard to breathe in. It is hard to imagine wearing it all day…AND teaching in it.
I agree that it will be hard with masks. It is a goal of all good teachers to build good relationships with our students, and them not being able to see our faces will make it more of a challenge. The reality is, if we wear masks and stay healthy, we will be there. If not, then we won’t have a chance to build those relationships. I know that wearing a mask is not a cure all, but it will help immensely if everyone does it. Mind over matter, LOL.
You have perfectly articulated all of the thoughts I have as a fellow 2nd grade teacher. I know we CAN go back under the current guidelines, but will it even be worth it considering all that students will still miss out on? Only time will tell.
Thank you. At least when we go back, the children will be able to see us. Maybe it will give a little stability to them.
Well put!
Well articulated. I knew right away you were a second grade teacher! I taught second and third for 37 of my 39 years teaching and have continued to sub at “my” school. I always get lots of hugs from classes I have subbed in. My retired friends and I won’t be doing that for awhile and I will miss it.
Thank you. You brought up another question I have…subs! If we get or think we have Covid, then we have to be out several days, right? How will we have enough subs to do all those days?
Congrats on such a long career!
Beautifully said! I wholeheartedly agree! ❤️
As an educator and mother of both a teenager and a elementary student, I would suggest you survey your parents. I would LOVE for you to hug my little one each day, pat him on the back, have a quiet talk if needed! I think that especially with young ones with resilient immune systems, the lack of this comforting teaching style is more threatening to them as they return to school. Students need us–they need proximity, appropriate physical touch, a visible smile, etc. Just a thought. . .
Your kids are not vulnerable, but their teacher probably is… I worry about lots of teachers and professors contracting covid and not surviving it, and their substitutes after them, and their substitutes after them, etc until we have a cure or a vaccine… unless all teachers have full PPE like nurses…
Yes.
So true! This really needs to be rethought. No students or staff should be placed in harms way.
I’m a middle school teacher and I have exactly the same concerns! Help!
I’m a Special Education teacher (K-5) in a Fulton County School…and I have already been informed that I will have eight students and 1 full time paraprofessional. However, my concern is in a special education class eight students are really 16 or 17 students, due to the various disabilities/ needs in the classroom. Some of the students aren’t fully potty trained and they aren’t going to keep masks on their faces all day. They dont mean to but they will sneeze and cough in their teachers/ peers faces. I feel that if we’re going back to school in person, special need students class sizes shouldn’t be over five students . The hybrid model would work for us too ( if there are 8 students, 4 should come on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and the other four students come on Tuesday and Thursday… and then the two groups should alternate. Many people may not realize it but a special needs classroom is at risk in so many ways, because our students put things in their mouths, lick things in the room, and they dont always understand what giving their teachers/peers space is all about.
I am also a sped teacher, but middle school. My students are in the same boat, won’t even keep a band aide on let alone a mask! Parents have already expressed that they NEED their students to be in the classroom with a caring, loving adult. We always use Clorox wipes and Lysol disinfectant spray all the time. We will just be more vigilant! I’m sure there will be many bridges to cross as we get closer to the beginning of the school year. One step at a time!!
You say this as if this a permanent new way of teaching. This is all temporary! We will have a vaccine and be back to normal, if not the second half of the coming school year, then for sure next year. Kids are VERY RESILIENT. We will all be fine. It will be o.k.
Ditto!!
“ It congers (sic) images…”
Michael, did you mean to type “…conjures…?”
Yes, thanks Stuart.
Does it really help the aim of the discussion if people correct spelling mistakes?
Yes.
It’s a teacher thing 🙂
Well, this is a slippery situation, so perhaps Conger is appropriate.
Haha, nice one, Sharon! Had to look it up, but now I get it!
And I agree, Michael, that it’s useless to worry about things outside our control. Usually the worry is far worse than the reality.
Good evening Sir
Please share the steps of online teaching for Pre-primary classes
Check out Class Dojo
I teach third grade and say ditto to many of the comments above. Relationship and proximity make my classroom buzz.
Another personal concern is the masks.
I have hearing loss and wear hearing aids. I rely on lip reading substantially. Even on normal days when I’ve asked the kids to repeat themselves already I will fake it sometimes and then wait and read their facial expressions to make sure I’m on the right track. How is this going to work for someone like me?
I’m a school based SLP. I have no idea how to hold therapy sessions, complete evaluations etc under the current guidelines. The students need to see my mouth & I need to see theirs. Some of my students are also hearing impaired.
Perhaps in your therapy sessions you and your students wear the plastic shield or have a table top sneeze sheild. Then you can remove masks.
My biggest concern starting next year is where to begin… because I really don’t know where the students ended. I wish I could get my old students back for 2 months to finish where we left off and then I could pass them on. I won’t know where to begin in the fall sadly.
Our district is asking us to begin on grade level. Then, as deficits appear, address them.
That’s exactly my thought!! What’s two months missing out on the next grade level when they’ve missed out on 3 months of my class. I totally agree. It’s provides closure and stability too.
That is one thing we asked admin to consider for our district but it was shot down and everyone “passed”. Having no closure makes it difficult for staff and students. Also, the unknown of where each student ended will make it difficult to start next year, especially for classes that are based off of previous classes. I feel bad for the students that worked hard throughout virtual learning and will have to repeat things because other students did nothing because it was not graded.
I teach at a school with lots of student transience. I am lucky to end the school year with 30% of the children who started the year in my room. I’m going to think about starting the school year as an extension of that. Everybody’s skills are all over the place. Assess and differentiate as much as possible.
I’m an art teacher. Disinfecting shared supplies in 15 minutes between classes? Brushes, markers, scissors? oy
I am an art teacher also. If my school opens this fall, children will be staying in their homerooms and specials teachers will travel to them. I think it will be a year of using limited art supplies and doing lots of drawing. Each student will have a large plastic ziploc bag with all of their supplies to keep in their homeroom. While teaching remotely all spring, I did all drawing activities. My students were happy and really enjoyed developing their drawing skills. They sent images of their work to Google Classroom, and I created an online art show. Seeing their work online was an incentive for many of them.
The problem for specialists is the dangerous risk of being exposed to possible high viral loads when working with multiple classes. That scenario is unsafe! I don’t want to work with several classes a day if I am exposed to many children. The potential exposure to high levels of virus is dangerous. I hope the district of the specialist above is considering this. The only way that would be relatively safe is if class counts are very low. There will be asymptomatic children and they do not have a magical immune system that prevents them from getting COVID-19 symptoms or from being asymptomatic. Many teachers have developed serious health problems from working as educators for many years, high blood pressure being a common one. Districts will have to make sure everyone follows safety standards and provide sufficient supplies for us to protect students AND staff. I just hope superintendents will be smart about their plan and that parents do not send children with any symptoms because they don’t have sick leave. We also don’t know what students will bring to school as their families engage in unsafe behavior. We learned through online teaching that kids are having sleepovers and play dates during our state’s lockdown! Hopefully, districts will seek the input of staff who will be in the trenches. My fear is that they will have plans and not ask us for our side of the story. I wish you all a safe school year next year and try not to think about this too much and at the same time, keep yourself informed.
Or if distance learning is the norm, then getting basic supplies out to 200+ students? Double oy. (I work in a district where 90%+ students receive free/reduced lunch)
I have been thinking about this as well, but the grab and go breakfast and lunch time frame makes the distribution of consumable supplies, etc., easier . . . and if we start with distance learning, all the required supplies (scissors, etc., ) will be at home for their use anyway. We can send home to any child that doesn’t have, like we did end of last year. My school has a higher percentage or close . . .
Oh my! I am an art teacher too. I hadn’t even considered that….. Clorox wipes or spay bottles of something disinfecting and washable towels…. and the students do it as a normal part of clean-up?
That seems to make the most sense to me procedurally. That’s what we do at my gym after a workout.
Good point, gloves would likely need to be provided too, but remember, there are OSHA guidelines regarding children handling disinfectant cleaning supplies due to chemical toxicity, (or even having the chemicals visible to students) which can cause asthma problems, etc. to children and staff …yet another issue.
As a teacher of Technology in a Computer Lab, where 30 different students use the same computers every 45 minutes daily, the need for keyboards to be cleaned properly after each use has me feeling anxious, particularly if we are not allowed to give the students Clorox wipes for instance. Our school does not provide a computer for each student, so sharing is necessary. Homeroom teachers are likely also concerned as there are shared computers in classrooms.
Personally, through distance learning, I have never had such great one-on-one time with my students; whether through Google Classroom or Google Meets, my “capacity to significantly improve teacher feedback and interaction with students” has made me love teaching again. No longer are the behavior issues apparent, the required rushing through classes which always made me feel like I had to wait until the following week to accomplish what I wanted, and even then, when students did not grasp a concept, waiting until the next week’s lesson often required a longer review…now, I simply stick with the student until they comprehend. I don’t care how long it takes…because I am able to give them one-on-one attention, they eventually get it, and I have received many emails this month from students thanking me for helping them through…for giving them confidence to do the work, for taking the TIME…something that is so fleeting in a brick and mortar classroom.
Students are actually MORE respectful. On the flip side, if a student does not want to participate, they do not participate…but at the same time, they are not able to disrupt the class; taking away valuable learning time from students who do participate. I still give my full attention to students who do not have confidence to do the work, helping them with step-by-step instructions, so they are not left out unless they and/or their parents do not wish to attend/participate…and students who do not participate are visited or at least contacted by our Principal. I do work longer (unpaid) distance learning hours, since I have over 200+ students at the moment, but I’d much rather work remotely than chance getting whatever illnesses my 200 to as many as 600 students I teach weekly may bring into the school environment.
I realize that distance learning is not a possibility once parents cannot supervise their children due to returning to work, however, if parents are receiving Unemployment Benefits, distance learning should be mandatory to reduce the numbers of students in brick and mortar schools and make classes smaller (10-15 max) so that teachers can give their students the attention they deserve 🙂 Thoughts?
Some interesting articles:
https://www.njea.org/cleaning-schools-without-making-people-sick-avoiding-toxic-products/
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/what-cleaning-products-work-to-kill-covid-19
http://www.nysed.gov/common/nysed/files/programs/coronavirus/nysed-covid-19-first-guidance-3-9-20.pdf
(I used a NY guidance document as I was not able to find something similar in NJ).
It is so nice to read someone else who has positive things to say about distance learning.
I work in kindergarten and can’t count the number of people who dismissed the idea of online kindergarten… including many colleagues who I otherwise love & respect.
I have never had a more fantastic & rewarding job in my life. I have loved it.
One factor is….
Just like you, I found that one great thing was that in the online environment I could give children my undivided attention- even if this was typically only for a minute or a few minutes at a time, this is huge. In a bricks & mortar classroom with 25 students (if you are very lucky, 28 is typical, I have seen 35) I almost never can show a child the decent respect of a moment of truly undivided attention.
Andi,
I am an art teacher too, and I hadn’t even considered that. What about Clorox wipes or a spray bottle of something disinfecting and washable towels and the students do it themselves?
We use spray disinfectant and washable towels at my gym after working out. Everyone cleans their own space. It works well there. With training even younger students take can do it.
I am an art teacher too. I am thinking they will have to come with their own personal supplies. $$$ We won’t be able to use community supplies for awhile.
I wish I had 15 minutes between my art classes. Some periods I have 0 minutes!
I thought the same thing. Most days I have 6 one-hour art classes. No time in between classes.
My greatest concern is missing the “intimacy” in the first grade classroom. I can’t tell you how many times I say, “Do you need a hug from a mom?” I offer these all the time when someone is sad or missing their mom. Facial expressions will also be hard. Everyone will need a clear plastic shield!!! I need to meditate now!!!!
I think it is essential for young students to see full facial expressions from teachers and peers. It is an important part of learning social cues. I would favor the use of plastic face shields instead of masks for teachers and students. It is a compromise I would be willing to make.
Face shields would be more comfortable, too!
I teach French to elementary students. Being comprehensible and communicating often depends heavily on facial visual cues. Wearing a mask for hours while speaking and singing a lot is not comfortable or reasonable. Plus, I am concerned about contracting the virus as I am 60.
Singing spreads the virus more, I am a music teacher and I plan to do as little singing as possible, concentrate on rhythm and instruments instead.
Michael i am a sped teacher. I have double the work already of general education teachers. I know bc i use to teach science. No one is considering the added responsibility of teachers, or the additional stress these guidelines would create. I personally health wise cant wear a mask and im not close enough to pass anything to my kids nor them on me. So masks are out of the question. With parents being laid off in high poverty schools like mine its a lawsuit waiting to happen if a child gets sick. If a child or teacher gets sick and have to quarrel will they be excused? I can only miss 9 days with pay. So there goes my daus and if i needed surgery or severely sick and have to take off it will cost me a days pay and teachers cant afford that. At least i cant. I have bills to pay and money is thin already.
Also no one is considering teachers needing a break for restrooms or get a drink or anything. Nothing is really discussed about how this will impact teachers. And they need us. Will extra staff be hired so teachers can have help and paras? We have to plan we have to hsve our conference period by law. I am not paid enough as it is much less to take on the extra duties and responsibilities these guidelines would create. Im emotionally not prepared for the additional stress. Im not paid to be a custodian. Teachers need breaks. We arent equipped to teach every subject. Would this require extra certification? Im already back in school pursuing my 3rd masters for the sped job. Which is more student loans and more stress being a full time student. Administrators and state officials need to know the effects on the teachers. Its like they think we are invincible or robots and we aren’t affected by anything. Parents need to keep their kids at home. I mean all my college classes are online. I survive. I learn. I have too. School is being looked at as a free daycare and meal ticket. Parents aren’t involved in their child’s education now. Send their child home and suddenly they get involved. Anyway more thought and consideration needs to be looked at on the how this all impacts teachers
As a Special educator, I also concur with everything listed above.
Will every student have to be escorted to the office/restroom/library to ensure they return promptly?
How will students be “watched” when home alone? Whose responsibility is it? Who will pay for it? What about single parents trying to earn a living? Will they begin to provide paid daycare at home for their own as well as others ? Or will we have latchkey kids? What about liability?
Many of our poor neighborhoods can barely translate academic English or assist with homework. Will they be provided with ongoing tutoring before, during, and after school as we have provided in the past?
Who will handle students with emotional and impulse control issues? How can I or a parent count on a year’s worth of progress being made in the ieps that I write?
My biggest concern is for kids who are already lagging behind, that they won’t get even further behind. The kids with family support who already have strong skills have done fine with whatever we’ve had to deal with, but how do I support the kids who don’t have families who can support them – whose families work, or don’t know English, or can’t read, or don’t have strong Internet signals (even with the hotspots we provide)? How do we keep that gap from growing a mile wide when we only see them two days a week??
Thank You. This article made me feel better. I have been looking forward to summer vacation for a while now as this is my first year teaching in an elementary school in a long time. Learning the curriculum and the technology have been huge challenges. I think triumphantly though I have come out stronger and more skilled as a result. These next weeks are stressful with report cards, record cards and classroom pack up all on my to do list. I am so looking forward to sleeping in, going to the beach and just taking time to enjoy the minutes in the day.
I love this. Thank you. I haven’t even received this type of support from my principal. Funny how a few kind words can ease the worries and fears of others. Thank you for for your time and effort. God bless
Exactly what I was going to say! Great perspective…. enjoy our summer…. we can’t control much right now.
My biggest fear is that concern to educate students takes precedence over concern to keep staff healthy and that parents will have too much power with MY LIFE. I hear people saying they want their kids back in school, but they have no idea of what it would be like with masks, distancing, and other impossible things to enforce. I love my job and my students, but I my life is at stake here. I do not want to be the sacrifice.
I share this fear as well. Parent complaints in my district accelerated the schedule for distance learning, so I know they have a LOT of influence.
Oh my goodness. This is my fear, too. My son and I have dealt with lung/breathing issues and I have had autoimmune issues. The general consensus seems to be: If you die, you die. Parents need a place to put their kids. School is more than education. We are free day care service and a meal program.
And I love my students, and I want them to have a safe space with free food. I want their parents to be able to work. But at what cost? The cost of my son’s life or my own?
We had a hurricane that destroyed my former town. Over 50% of the residents lost homes. Before the town was livable and while many teachers were homeless, we were required to return to work. I saw then that the government often prioritizes money over human beings. I was able to move away, but this year I have no savings to allow me to stay out for a year. I don’t want us to be a statistic, and only my faith is helping me to keep it together.
This is where I am . . . I am in a vulnerable age-group and the loud parents are screaming for “daycare.” And I am saying, first, we are NOT daycare, and second, at what cost to your children and their teachers/staff?
Yes!!!
Great article Michael! Thanks for the insights and advice.
I serve multiple schools and many educators are voicing to me their concerns about if they will be employed due to budget cuts and/or reallocating of funds to address the challenges.
Some superintendents and principals are sending out surveys inquiring to see if educators are returning and a significant percentage of educators are not planning on returning in person. Some I know are actively looking for another profession due to the uncertainties and the amount of new demands they will have.
My biggest concern is that monumental decisions are being made by far too many decision makers often without the input of educators. parents/families, and students.
I agree that we need to have more input. We truly understand the dynamics that occur which many administrators, and of course people outside of education, are removed from. We love our kids, we want them to do well but we have to be safe and healthy so we can help our country get back on its feet. We also need a variety of ages of staff in our schools. We need to keep older, more experienced teachers safe as they (we) matter.
Thank you.
The only thing I’m worried about as a music teacher, is not being able to teach in person. As long as I can do that, I know I can handle anything else that happens in my classroom.
My biggest concern is being able to hold students somewhat accountable for their participation in school work and in learning, and my ability to actually TEACH.
Washington State has basically said that a students cannot drop below Q3, regardless of anything, even if administration is able to determine that a student had no barriers to participation. I have seen a huge drop in participation, and I put out a survey to my students. The majority agreed that had they thought they couldn’t drop to an Incomplete, no matter their participation level or lack there-of, they wouldn’t have done anything these last 7 weeks.
To be fair to them, the severe restrictions that were placed on us made it so that I wasn’t teaching. I was record keeping. A lot of my students claim they learned, but I don’t see study guides as learning; I see it as a band-aid to prevent learning loss. If the state makes it so that I am allowed to actually TEACH and hold the kids a little bit accountable, I can make anything else work.
I am a MS band teacher and my fear is that I won’t be able to have my class at all. There are typically larger numbers in my room and we perform at concerts that are packed in gymnasium. I worry that none of this will be allowed next fall/year.
I worry about this too, for my son who loves marching band so much. It is why he enjoys school. Of course, being from the state where that choir ended up infecting everyone over a two hour practice definitely puts choir on hold. Have you read any research about wind instruments and the spread of the virus?
My son was in marching band so my first comment was, it is outside (yay!) and you can choreograph using social distancing (10 ft, since they are blowing air through an instrument, most of them!)
The University of Colorado at Boulder’s preliminary results for winds will be out sometime around July 10. I think the results for choir, theater, and debate are supposed to come out on the 25th.
Do I have to go back to school to learn how to teach on line? Or am I ok with my certificate? i don’t know about Zoom. I taught Pre-school last year, but am hoping to move up this year. I’m not worried so much about the other stuff, but how to teach on line. Help???
Dear Susan,
There are a lot of great resources available to help you learn about Zoom, Google Hangouts, or whatever the platform. I spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos to help me. I had 2 days to get a plan in place. It changed over the 10 or however many weeks, but I was excited to find new ways to engage my students. Even after 31 years of teaching, it was great to get my brain working on some different strategies. The Growth Mindset that I encourage my students in the classroom to use was very much used by me.
Good Luck! You can do it!
That is great advice, Sandee! I have done so much technology learning in the past few months…and so much more to learn! The actual teaching part is fairly easy for me. it’s the tech stuff that is complicated and causes some anxiety!
Only great information about our teaching and concerns about education can I always read from you. Half or more of my teaching population speaks only English; the other half only Spanish.
Is there a way I can get your articles in Spanish?
I can volunteer to translate them if you want me to.
I need your permission to do it.
I just do not want to do it without you permission
I am concerned I will be asked to do 2 full time jobs (teaching live and remote) along with the other cleaning tasks that are likely going to go along with this, essentially having to sacrifice my presence with my family. Which in the end, will mean I would have to quit teaching in my 14th year and hope to find another career.
Biggest concern is if admins or teachers were to come up with tough-sounding policies regarding the virus, but then not enforce those policies. (The students will be watching!).
I am a K-6 Music teacher. So many of the things that we typically do in class involve singing, chanting, turn and talk, circle games, circle dances where you change partners each verse . . . I would imagine that these activities will be prohibited. Not to mention playing and then sanitizing instruments. Classes tend to be back-to-back, which means no time to clean in between. Personally, I would rather teach online, especially if all of these fun activities can’t happen during social distancing.
I completely understand. I teach pre-K through 4 music with a section of chorus. My only saving grace has been a bit of advice I gave a young band teacher who was petrified for her job next year. I told her to plan….what would band look like in school, out of school, no large ensembles. She planned for all possibilities she could think of and then shared that multi-level plan with our admin. The response was great and now I’m going to take my own advice and plan as well. My administrator is not a music person and she recently admitted she truly had no clue what the art/music/library/computer/PE folks do. We are best equipped to figure it out because if we don’t, the plan they may come up with could be cutting things altogether. I hate to be doom and gloom but that is a reality. I tend to think Proactive is the best active.
Check out MusicplayOnline Denise Gagne has two webinars out about how to teach in class during this, she had great ideas, you can make it work. This webinar really out my mind at ease.
I meant to say really put my mind at ease.
I teach K-12 with elementary music, band, and choir. The art teacher also teachers K-12. She and I are really concerned, because we are the only people who will be exposed to every student in the entire district. What happens if we get sick? Does the entire school district quarantine for 2 weeks?
I have no idea what I’m going to do about band and choir. (Elementary is going to be extremely challenging, too, but the challenges are different and have more solutions. I spent my first 3 years teaching elementary with no technology and no instruments; I got very creative.) My state announced today that we’re going to have all fall sports as normal, so I have to figure out how to put together a marching show…and expose myself to a town full of people who still believe this is a hoax.
what will happen to the substitutes
If we go back, I think subs will get more work. Many teachers I know used to go to work sick or slightly under the weather because sub plans are more difficult than just going in. I dont think it’s going to be allowed anymore. I do think subs will need to be on call, though. Just in case someone gets sick midday. I worry about our sub shortage.
Wow! That’s a lot to think about.
As an ESL teacher, mostly to beginners at the high school level, I am mystified as to how I will be able to teach proper pronunciation while wearing a mask, even one with a plastic window in it (which will have to have its interior wiped regularly because of vapor, etc.). So much of what I do involves facial expression. I am at a loss…perhaps I will have to make videos that the students watch on their laptops and then attempt to replicate. Aaarrghhh.
I am a French as a second language teacher and have been on Amazon the last couple of days selecting A personal portable mini PA system with a headset microphone and a little speaker I can wear on my belt.
My biggest concern is figuring out how to teach speaking language without speaking to my students who are online. Much is lost
Could you just pre-record your language lesson without wearing your mask (at home/during your prep time?) and then use your recorded lesson ‘in class‘ or as an online ‘tutorial?’ You could ‘play it’ to your kids that are together in your class and then also make the pre-recorded lesson available to your students who are learning online or absent from class for that lesson. You could also make it available as a ‘remedial’ lesson if your students need to rewatch/relearn it.
The students could also use their cell phones or tablets to record their oral language practices and send/share those recordings to you for you to critique or to ‘grade’ their practice or efforts—and no one would have to wear masks if you all ‘recorded’ yourselves at home.
I hope this makes sense. A friend of mine teaches middle school Spanish, and he was going to be out of class for a whole week. His substitute was not a Spanish speaker. My colleague didn’t want to leave ‘worksheets’ for the whole time that he was going to be gone, and so he pre-recorded a weeks worth of lessons for each his three different levels of Spanish—beginning Spanish, intermediate Spanish, advanced Spanish. (He had two classes at each level.). The substitute just had to take attendance and began the pre-recorded ‘lesson’ for the day and hit ‘pause’ when the Spanish teacher said it was time to pause, and then restart when the set amount of time had elapsed. The sub checked or listened to make sure the kids were doing what the teacher had told them to do, and then the lesson resumed. It turned out really well. The kids still progressed and learned, they weren’t bored out of their skulls just doing worksheets all week, and the substitute did a good job facilitating the learning. It was not a ‘wasted’ week. (In fact, the kids thought it was really cool that they got to see Senor Nelson every day even though he wasn’t in the building with them.)
How many of us have cash on hand to do this? How many of us work in new buildings that support this kind of tech? I have worked in buildings so outdated they didn’t have air conditioning, much less a working smart board, books, laptops/iPads, or even DESKS to accommodate the number of students in a classroom. Who pays for all of this???
Actually, I think that is a great idea. They could see your face and hear you.
I am concerned most about the workload. I am pretty convinced that I will be forced to teach online and in person whether I want to or not as I am the only art teacher in my building. I have one prep period and sometimes I do not get all of that because I teach my Special Needs Class right before my prep, and sometimes it bleeds over.
My questions go not only over the kind of classroom reality we’ll have to face on next year or after the middle year break in case of our local schools.
The thing is also if the classroom management plan could be adapted to the online classes. I think you might have an article about this already. The other point is, my case, getting in a new school, just after the middle year break and teach music online for years 5 to 8. I know all that is all concerned about to manage tech skills and “voilá”, everything will be working and the students will be eager to practice, or listen to songs and videos, or to engage to online music tools which let them to make part of the active process. I believe that the last one might be a good point to start to think more closer. Then it comes the time spent online facing the students (how many should be affordable) and assignments for the week where in a self-management process some or many of them are not still got used to do it. In fact, we are all on the same boat (made by 3/4 of water) and the the new “normal” is not established even not tested. It only remains to us to get the students hands together (virtually of course) and share our thoughts and their input. Make them talk in this process could help us a lot to understand a view point from who is from other generation. Let me know other thought please! Deniz from Brazil.
I had so many students with incompletes this past year due to lack of self-management (7th grade). If it’s nearly impossible to get them to do the work in person, more guidelines for online learning must be in place and CLEARLY communicated to students and parents. Most of my kids thought summer came early and also thought they could not get an incomplete as they were not being graded on work (we just recorded what they did, whether it was adequate or not, and THAT’S what they were “graded” on!). I hate to be Negative Nancy, but the guidelines suggested for returning to the classroom are simply NOT realistic. School funding is low already, especially in high-risk districts–who will pay for all of the new procedures, equipment, staff, etc.? I already work 10-12 hope days as an ELA teacher, I don’t care at all to add to those hours. We desperately need educator input as to how to manage learning come fall, and dinner break is, unfortunately, not nearly long enough to not consider these concerns and just “enjoy summer.” You have missed the mark entirely.
That was my concern. I asked for more custodial hours in the district survey, we may even need passing time at elementary level for cleaning.
Thank you for this article. I have been riding high with anxiety about starting school in the Fall, largely because I am in the higher risk category: I am no spring chicken and I have high blood pressure and pre-diabetes. I am also living in an area that is quite Conservative, and it’s typical that many folks here refuse to wear masks and follow social distancing protocols. Those students will be in my poorly ventilated classroom with me. Perhaps 10 to 15 of them, but that’s 10 to 15 who are possible risks to me, but may be asymptomatic. There is no way that these kids will be able to be seated 6 feet apart, which we are finding an arbitrary number, most especially indoors where there is poor ventilation. I have no windows and only two outside doors-one in the hallway and one to outdoors on the same wall, so there is no cross ventilation. Can we truly say that our teachers with high risk factors will be “safe”? I have a teacher friends with family members with MS and other immunity issues. Will we force them into the classroom? I just know that there are no teachers to replace us, if we fall ill or worse. At the same time, the larger community is depending on us for babysitting. My husband has even suggested me quitting teaching altogether! I guess you are right, lots can happen between now and then, but I don’t foresee a major shift unless we have much more cheap and efficient tests and trace testing. A vaccine is quite far off. This seems to be a question of wants versus needs. (I DO know that there are very real equity issues too; there are no real solutions except, hopefully, people will finally understand that schools need to be fully and equally funded.)
I live in an area where there are both conservatives and liberals. I do not see a correlation between wearing masks and political view points. I may have misunderstood your thoughts.
I teach in a small, detached, outside portable classroom because the district I teach in has vastly overcrowded schools. In our already overcrowded schools, how are we going to teach safely while maintaining social distance?
I’m sure the extra cleaning will fall on us teachers as we already have issues with being short-staffed on janitors. Next, will the school district provide us with N 95 masks as we will now be essential, front line workers? I doubt it because N95 masks aren’t available anywhere.
I also am concerned about my fellow experienced teachers. I may not have health conditions, but some of them do. We could lose some of our very best veteran teachers because of this. While I miss teaching face to face and the children, I feel like many of my coworkers will be guinea pigs with schools opening in six weeks.
I’m concerned about the kids and could write a whole essay there. The whole situation is just sad to me.
Agreed!
Oh my do I have high anxiety! I ‘m trying to take your advice about enjoying the summer but, I can’t distract my mind enough for five minutes not to think about the fall! I teach kindergarten with a classroom of 24-25 students and no aide or support. I’m struggling with thinking about how I’m going to manage all of the requirements. Also, our day will be focus on making sure all students are following protocol which is time consuming. This will take time over academic instruction. This will be my 22 year teaching and I’m not sure if I will be able to handle teaching all day wearing a mask and shield. I have a lot of concerns that teachers have stated above.. we are all in this together and I do wish everyone a safe return. Being teachers we can do this !
You really captured the questions that periodically interrupt my summer relaxation! In addition, I am wondering how will I get to know my students given less time in person and more virtual time? As a 6th grade math teacher, I usually teach 5 classes of 25-28 students. These kids will be transitioning to middle school and will have additional anxiety with that, along with their parents needing a great deal of communication. I also wonder how the school will track cases of sick students and teachers and decide when to close? Look forward to your future articles which I know will ease my mind! Thank you
I would like to add to my comment. I was thinking… about all of these cleaning products and disinfectants we will be using is not healthy as well. Having all of these products around children and adults over a period of time must cause some harm. Like students with allergies and asthma. And eating in the classroom each day just doesn’t seem sanitary to me. The students area will need to be cleaned before and after lunch. This will too take time. I get overwhelmed thinking of 25
k kids eating in the classroom without a lunch aide to support the classroom. How will I be able to manage lunch time?
Just thinking out loud… any one out there thinking the same?
Yes, I feel like our primary job will be cleaning rather than teaching.
At my last school we were not allowed to have Clorox wipes due to possible allergic reactions in students. Consider that.
We used them without issue (from any students, asthma, etc., ) once a day to clean off desks, twice if students had lunch in the room with me. The teacher conference days when they told us to finish them by phone, then shut down and go home, I was Cloroxing and Lysoling all day long–that stuff aggravates my throat, lungs, allergies, etc., so I was in the grocery store right after work to stock up myself and getting dirty looks from people because I could not stop coughing.
I have been wondering about the cleaning issues, too. Some of the disinfectants have such strong odors that they cause headaches…and this was BEFORE Covid. If we clean throughout the day, where are our students waiting when we are doing this cleaning? Where do I go to wash my hands after this cleaning? I can’t just leave my students in the room while I trot down the hall to the restroom to wash my hands.
I totally agree with the comments about teaching 2nd grade because most apply to kindergarten, as well. I will add that, as a kinder teacher, I learned that teaching math online to 5 and 6 year-olds is insufficient. Young children need to use manipulatives while learning and practicing mathematical concepts. Even though I personally purchased and mailed to my students manipulatives and large dry erase stickers-at my own expense-I came to realize that gravity got in the way of modeling and checking for understanding. We could not show our manipulatives without each having a document camera at home-which, of course, we did not. Consequently, my students were limited to drawing in order to apply the math practice standards 4 & 5, which pertain to modeling and using tools. Drawing was better than nothing, but definitely not the optimum way to teach math to young children. If I had to do it again, I would need magnetic white boards and magnets so that I could see their thinking, as words alone are not enough at this age. Young children are still learning how to articulate their thinking in every subject matter, let alone in math.
Good thoughts here, Carolyn. That was so generous of you to mail those supplies to your students. Wow! I struggled in the classroom with “gravity” and manipulatives! Can’t imagine how to do this online. There are some virtual manipulatives, but I still have to learn to use them. If we are actually in school. I plan to give each child a large bag of math manipulatives.
Being a kindergarten teacher, even if we go back on campus 2-3 days a week and the other days online, I feel strongly that day 1 has to be in person!
Also, I can see me (& my kiddos) wearing face shields, but not masks. I teach in an immersions program and they must see my mouth & I need to see theirs!
In any case, “flexible” is every teacher’s middle name & we can do this!!!
Thank you for your articulation of my many concerns. Honestly I am having PTSD about returning to the classroom. I teach art to 170+ students a week in an beautiful but enclosed no windows no ventilation room. I fell very ill in late February, was tested for Covid in late March, but had a negative result. My doctor and I both think I was one of the 30% who had a false negative test result. I spent 4 weeks in self isolation with a fever and cough that was relentless. And thankfully, I considered my illness “mild” compared to others. I can not be certain how I got sick but to be very honest the amount of ill children and staff was astounding at my school in the month of February. If I had followed my instincts, I would have left the school building when I truly noticed how sick kids were, but that is not what teachers do, we persevere. I love my job. I taught distance learning art all through my illness and it was a struggle. Fortunately, on week 16 I now feel on the back side of this wicked virus, but I am still to this day dealing with after effects of being ill. Trust me, no one wants this illness and I consider myself to be very fortunate.
Going back the physical school and teaching over 170 kids seems like a big risk for a “specialist” teacher like me and for the students and staff. That is one giant size bubble/cohort. I meet with administration next week and will be lobbying for continued online art learning. Yes, not ideal, not much fun for anyone, but until we can tame this horrible virus, normalcy is not realistic. Stay safe everyone.
I am so thankful your health is improving. Stay safe.
I hear every thing you say, and am glad you are feeling better now. I always have anxiety over the summer about being prepared/organised and ready to return to school in September, with less than half a day of personal time during inset to prepare the room and resources. This year will be even worse, if we are going to continue with the majority of our teaching as on-line I feel as teachers we should be allocated more plan and prep time during each week plus more dedicated time at the beginning of term to co-ordinate with our work colleagues whether across the whole teaching staff or just within departments. The teachers are the front line, are we going to be included by SLT in the planning process or just expected to accept their decisions about how best to provide successful and quality teaching and learning?
I’m bracing myself for the second week of. July when there will be. Back. To. School Sales. Featuring Student Masks and personal sanitizer kits
Already getting e-mails and texts about masks marked with the day of the week, in students sets of 5 for $30 each set!
Great advice as always!! I agree with you, as I believe most educators would, this will be a tremendous struggle for teachers of all grade levels next year. I would like to add that it helps to stop watching the news, or just watch/read it in small doses. The media is the main culprit responsible for fueling the fear regarding this matter. There are going to be glitches in the next year whether we like it or not and no matter how well we plan. However, as Michael states here, I can attest to the fact that kids will respect and more than likely listen to teachers who keep their cool rather than those who hit the panic button. Easier said than done, I know, but it works. If a portion of your plan fails, just do it better the next class or the next day. This is the advice I would tell myself, if I could, when I first started teaching nearly 20 years ago. Remember, there is no precedent for this situation in education, so veteran and novice educators alike are experiencing it for the first time together. In a way, knowing this is quite liberating.
P.S.
The suggestion to drink an adult beverage is golden 🙂
Yes, but in a normal year, glitches and failed plans are not risking people’s lives. I am terrified to go back. Kids in my district are not held accountable for anything, and now what they do or don’t do can affect everyone else’s health.
Scary…does anyone have information about elementary schools that are working and problem solving with the challenges brought upon by Covid 19? It would be nice to see ways we can limit our exposure before school starts up again. Another stressor- many states are facing budget deficits….
Hopefully, we won’t have regular observation/evaluation expectations. We cannot honestly be evaluated in this weird time. Yes, we need to integrate our state standards but I can’t control a situation like a kid eating cereal and putting his head down on the table holding his computer. Our state superintendent nixed state testing this year and plans on it for next year but has to get approval from the feds to do this.We teachers have magic powers but not for this. I TRULY appreciate the input of all my colleagues on this feed. Thank you for your dedication!!!
I’m a modern languages teacher and I am becoming more and more hearing-impaired. My job was hard enough already as I was struggling to hear and make sense of the pupils’ speech… hearing aids notwithstanding! Add 2 masks (mine and theirs) and the inability to get closer to them and I can’t see how I am going to be able to comunicate effectively at all!
I have a concern about next year which is not related to Covid 19, but I think would be a good topic for a future article.
Our school building was being renovated this year and we were moved to a temporary site. Children were bused to school, which they previously hadn’t been. This greatly improved punctuality and attendance as every one was in on time in the morning and parents rarely picked students up early. I noticed a huge difference in the amount of work I could get done and the ‘flow’ in the classroom, even though our day had been slightly shortened. I would like to learn some strategies or approaches to improve punctuality and attendance when we return to our own building next year.
Regards, B.
Nice recap article here Michael but the real value is in all the comments from your readers that make up this thread. The concern about what post-pandemic education will look like is apparent and valid. I also sense that many of the professionals that take the time to post are dedicated and will help us do what needs to be done to ensure students achieve.
I don’t think districts will be able to afford to go back to classrooms. I’m preparing to teach entirely online next year.
Parents can complain all they want, but without extra money in the budget, it’s not going to happen. They’ll need to pass some kind of bond measure for the funds. And with November still far away, plus the need to collect and disburse that money, it’ll likely be the 21-22 school year before we go back.
As a special education teacher of preschool students I feel it will be challenging to return to school with all these restrictions. Hopefully they will figure it out soon. Until then, I’m going to enjoy my summer.
I am a Vocal Music teacher and in my district we may be using a hybrid plan in which Art, Music (Vocal and Instrumental), and PE will be suspended and we will teach Science or Social studies to a grade level so that classes can be 15-18 students.
I teach middle school math. I have two concerns. One, do I teach both the distance kids at the same time as the school kids? I would rather do it this way. Zoom and Meet would make it easy, but who knows what will actually happen.
My other concern is the masks. I have a hearing problem. While I have hearing aids, they only go so far and I rely on looking at whomever is talking to help understand what is said. Sigh.
I also have hearing aids and still rely on some lip reading or getting close to the child (especially quiet talkers) to understand them.
Since I’ll be teaching 2nd grade next year, I don’t know how it would work to teach distance and in person at the same time. A video of lessons could violate students’ privacy laws if those children need to be corrected during a lesson. And how would this be recorded? From the back of the classroom? It is boggling my mind right now.
I am already back at school. We have two cohorts of students, each only attending two days. No masks, but lots of hand washing and physical distancing. Masks for kids is a crazy idea. They just touch it all the time anyway. Face shields for teachers might be something to consider. Some schools have purchased plexiglass barriers for teachers doing small group work. Mostly it’s working and the kids are happy to be back.
The part that doesn’t work is trying to keep up with the remote learning in your one day without students. I’m not really able to adequately support the 30% of my class who chose not to return. I teach grade 5.
How do you feel about being back if you don’t mind me asking and how many days are you in the building?
I’m concerned about how to find individual art supply kits for 575 students in a community that is very transient. My principal is wary of adding anything to our supply list in a time of so much unemployment. I’m not guaranteed a budget at all, and have been fortunate to build up a classroom closet full of materials. However, those supplies are intended for shared use.
I’m trying not to stress it. I’m going to make lemonade out of whatever lemons I have. I’m lucky to not see Art being cut at all. It definitely makes it difficult to plan at all. Most teachers do more than just chill out in the summer.
I mean to say that I’m not losing my position as many others have.
I think what concerns me most is connecting with a new group of students coming in to 6th grade.
I’m with you there! I am a 6th grade middle school science teacher. I’m wondering how it’s going to work with doing hands on, group 😬 labs with my newbies! This is going to be quite the adventure!
In Japan, where mask use is already very common, you don’t hear anybody saying that it is not possible to teach with a mask on. So for me, it has been interesting to read peoples’ reactions to face masks in countries where they aren’t used to them. What feels possible can be very tied to what one is used to. I don’t like wearing a face mask, but I have gotten used to using one.
One learns to discern facial expressions even with a mask. When smiling, the shape of the eyes and cheekbones change. You can see that someone is smiling even if you can’t see the smile itself. The same is true for other expressions. You learn to notice a whole range of other things that express feelings: the tilt of the head, the position of the shoulders. There are so many indicators of mood.
With respect to understanding speech from behind a mask, one learns to enunciate more clearly to make it easier for students to hear, and we encourage students to do the same.
No, an extra barrier is not ideal, but it is possible to teach and learn with a mask on.
Personally, I do not recommend using face shields on top of a mask while teaching. Face shields are intended for people in jobs where talking is not the main component of the job: for welding, teeth cleaning and the like.
We tried them at my school, but teachers were getting dizzy from the lack of oxygen and the buildup of heat behind the double barrier of mask plus shield.
Instead, they put up a clear plastic barrier between the teacher at the front of the room and the students’ seats. From behind this barrier, masks can be removed for short periods of time so that students can see the teacher’s mouth.
The idea of using digital device screens for certain kinds of learning and face-to-face interactions for others is also a good one, I think.
With respect to students who won’t wear a mask (or parents who refuse), if the consensus in the medical community is that wearing a mask protects others, I think there need to be clear rules on this set by governments (national or local) and/or by school boards.
–Just one perspective on one of the many issues surrounding living with a new virus.
Thank you for sharing your experience. That is so helpful and hopeful.
Thanks for sharing your story. My daughter has been teaching in Japan for almost 11 years. They have been back at school for 2 weeks now with everyone doing masks and social distancing. Do you know where to get “formed” masks? I am sure there is a better name, but i don’t know it. I was thinking I would do better in a mask that did not move in and out while I breathed or talked–one that kept its shape and stayed out from my mouth.
You can order mask brackets on Amazon that go under your mask to keep it off of your face.
Thank you for your respective and sharing your experiences. This is helpful.
Enjoy time off?!! What world do you inhabit? What teacher, in normal times, actually has time off? And now with remote learning there has been absolutely no down time since March 13 which is when my large urban school district shut down and went digital. Most teachers did not engage with students through the digital world. I did not. My personal time spent with my students in class is critical to their growth and learning and my learning about them. In 1 week I had to learn the PowerSchool platform and the following week I had to post/upload/create my classes for PSL. Once I got the hang of that…my district decided to go with Canvas! We teachers in my district were informed of this 3 weeks before finals week! At the same time, my district began to roll out training videos from Canvas, and all this while we teachers are still posting to PowerSchool, grading, having conferences with students (I had weekly phone conferences with my students for 11 weeks), and then we were expected to watch roll-out training because the super & board of ed think that since we are all teaching from home we have limitless amounts of time? And now to return physically to our classrooms amid state and district budgets cuts with projected 10% cuts in pay? And YOU say “enjoy your time off”?!
Hi,
Thank you for your article.
One of my biggest concerns is teacher coverage for these small size classrooms. With a shortage of teachers, for whatever reason,
it was already difficult to cover a classroom of 30 something let alone multiple classroom of 20ish.
Also staggered schedules? Will there be earlier dismissal times, will go home, be in another area of the building?
Ok, so there you have it.
Not stressed, but concerned.
Yes, that is one of my concerns, too. If they split my class into 2 groups and spread them out in the building, who teaches the other half of my class? Then, if the other half of my class is at home every other day, who teaches them online? How can it be me if I am at the school teaching the other half?
Thanks for another great article, Michael. My biggest concern is the trauma students have experienced over these months. How will they sit through a whole day of class? How will I know how to help them?
You are right. I’m staying up late tonight, and sleeping in tomorrow. I can’t do anything about next Fall, so I’m not dwelling on it. Thanks for your encouragement!
The main problem is that the govt has sqeeved eryone out. CDC now says bery unlikely to contract from a surface anyway. So imho main thing is telling and responding to kids and teachers who might become symptomatic. A lot of these other concerns are not valid yet understandable due to the hyper over vigilence of educated people who want to do the right thing and actually still believe much of what the jornos still publish!
I fear a cavalier attitude by the DS will put my life at risk. I am “older” and my husband has some immune health risks. Currently masks are required for employees in my state, but the DS is not following those mandates. When I asked why a meeting was being held in person and not virtually, there was no reason given and masks are not required. How are they going to provide protection to my students and myself in the fall. Is an unexpected retirement in my future?
My concern is that I feel claustrophobic when I wear a mask. I’m not sure how I will teach in one all day and how I can convince the students to keep their masks on when I can barely tolerate one myself. Also. I wonder where the funding will come from for all of the buses and extra staff needed for social distancing on buses. They have also discussed spreading out elementary kids to high school campuses. Where will they get the extra teachers? If a teacher or student is infected will everyone have to be tested?
Here is a down-to-earth nitty-gritty question about in person schooling this August. What about restroom visits???
At my school there are 2 bathrooms for grades 1, 2, and 3. (about 200 students) Kindergarten rooms have their own bathrooms. Our typical routine is to line up in the hall and allow 3 students at a time in. Then those students line up in another line waiting for the rest to finish. Then we return to the classroom. This takes about 10 minutes (after the routines have been learned!) Sometimes another class is lined up behind us (especially after lunch and after specials).
With social distancing, this won’t work as there isn’t enough room to all space 6 feet apart in the lines. Plus, is there cleaning after every student uses the restroom??? How would this work safely and practically?
One idea I had is to let students just go out alone from the classroom when they needed to, but then there is no supervision for behavior or stranger safety. Plus, what if another class is there?
One thing that is certain is that children need to use the restroom, and we will need to know what to do before Day 1.
I agree completely.
As an EA and also immunocompromised I’m not sure how we are supposed to social distance from special needs children. What about those children that need personal care or have feeding tubes etc. Social distancing is impossible for these situations. There are many situations that may require us to be close to the students. It is concerning for my protection as well as those of the students.
I fear if we return to campus districts will lay off teachers to come up with the funding for the new cost to try to protect our health at school. I don’t know how SPED or Intervention teachers can be effective when they push-in. I fear that we won’t be able to put in place enough safe practices to protect all the youngster that have preconditions. That school will be even more stressful on our teachers and students. I am so sad to think I may need to give up my dream job because I will put my family at risk due to their age and health.
I also fear that if we continue with distance learning it will be a long year. I didn’t find my virtual classes very rewarding. Yuck, I am feeling like a first year teacher all over again.
I’m in Ireland. I teach multigrade 4-8year olds. Supposed to be going back in September. No masks. My biggest concern is that we probably won’t know until right beforehand how gov. wants us to do it and we won’t have time to get everything set up. Also cleaning. Atm. we have a cleaner who does a quick swish 2 evenings a week. It willbe down to me I am afraid. I also want to continue using concrete materials and playful learning, so I have decided to split all resources up so each child has their own set, no sharing. Incl. scissors, playdough, colours, paintbrushes…..
As a PE teacher I am very concerned of the requirement to wear masks. Students and teachers cannot sustain physical activity if they feel their breathing is restricted. This is not a reasonable requirement. Also, other ideas of having one piece of equipment per student. In an ideal world of endless funding, this might be possible but it’s not reality.
Hi, very insightful write up.
I’m an elementary teacher and I love my career and am very passionate about it. However, teaching online isn’t my thing and I need to think of something else now which is so upsetting for me. I’m. Not very tech savvy and technology makes me nervous, so mayb it’s time to quit… So sad n depressing 😭😭
As a chorus teacher, I am concerned how I’m going to do my job. During the shutdown, I “taught” the songs the student already learned. But Zoom doesn’t allow you to hear people singing at the same time, so I had to sing and asked all of the students to sing on their own while on mute. It worked okay for a temporary shutdown, but it’s not going to work when teaching new material. I can’t have 40+ kids in a classroom at a time. My school also doesn’t have indiviaul chorus lessons like most schools have band lessons, so I couldn’t even teach the students in small groups. Also, a lot of my job requires the students to see my mouth and me to see theirs so I know if they’re shaping the vowels and consanents correctly. I’m at a loss on how to proceed. I’ll be happy to take any advice you’ve got on the subject!
Perhaps I can help here a bit.
I work in an international school in China. We’ve been reopened for some weeks now. This is what we did.
Everyone had to wear a mask.
Children could take masks off when running around outside in playtime and in PE (breathing heavily in a mask can be dangerous). Yes, that’s a problem, but they were in outside environments and far away from each other.
School cleaners did plentiful disinfecting all day.
Children have to have hands washed and/or disinfected any time they went outside, inside or ate anything.
Children sit apart – two to a desk, at opposite ends, arranged so that everyone is at least 1 metre away from anyone else.
Lunches were retimed so that we could accommodate all children, sitting apart – two lunchtimes instead of one.
Social distancing on school buses – each two-person seat had one child on it, with the child behind sitting on the other side of the seat.
A few children in each class are unable to attend. They join in classes via Zoom and do assignments online.
I hope this helps! It has been a challenging time, but it hasn’t been as bad as it might be.
My biggest concern is that all the things that I have been taught that are good for students and teachers is to learn socially, in groups, from each other. And that does not fly in this current situation. I have been advocating for my school to have Professional Learning Communities (believe it or not, we never have, just long staff meetings every other week where the principal reads the agenda list of upcoming dates) and now it seems that any progress made towards establishing these will be dropped by the wayside. In the classroom, I have never had my desks in any other arrangement besides groups, using station/centers, etc. It seems I will have to rethink my entire pedagogy!
The willingness of admin, teachers, and students to take the virus seriously and to adapt to the (brave) new normal will be everything. Might have to set aside 5 to 10 minutes, when the bell rings, for each period, to have the students do the disinfecting procedures, before actual classwork begins.
1) is expecting students, teachers, admin, and other school personnel to be wearing masks realistic? Will consequences be enforced if they don’t wear a mask?
2) what about Chorus?— is singing going to be ok?…masks?
3) Band— Masks?
4) what is the answer when some students and some parents ask, “why is it not ok to hold pro sports in the stadiums (with closely-packed spectators) but it IS ok to have students in schools (with closely-packed students)?
5) if a student or teacher gets sick, is the class or the whole school shut down until it is determined whether the sickness is the COVID-19 virus?
6) Close-contact sports (wrestling)— abolished?
7) how will subs be integrated into the “home lessons” portion of the new normal?
Adaptation, cooperation, patience, a clear set of procedures, and a good attitude will be everything.
I’m afraid my kids will get covid 19 I’ll nteracti going with other people in the school when u don’t know who’s sick 🤷mines not going back home schooling
Every child and teacher need to get tested before they inter doors bring kids and teachers to school and they sick some people don’t car they want tell u be walking around whole time sick
I concur! As an early childhood Special educator who is at high risk if I contract Covid 19, as well as live with high risk family, I don’t believe it is worth risking my life to help children in person. Distance Learning can work, especially if we are given time to collaborate and plan with families and colleagues.
As a newly credentialed teacher, I had been subbing until the closures. The only thing certain at this point are my student loans. It is going to be almost impossible to find a position this Fall with the budget cuts looming in my state. Very discouraging.
I am a MS Theatre teacher. I have similar concerns.
But I have come to the realization that I cannot control what the district requires or our school administration requires. I can only do what I can control in my classroom.
There are so many concerns it is hard to list them, but most of all is how to teach Theatre and stay socially distant, wearing masks and NOT projecting our voices to control spreading germs.
It is all a big question mark at this time.
When people say that we shouldn’t worry about things we cannot control in this situation, it only makes me more frustrated. Why can’t we control some of what is going on in regards to coming back to school? Where is our teachers’ union? The union should be fighting for us and demanding that the government set guidelines to keep us safe. The guidelines that have been created by our government are not realistic. These legislators and governors are not teachers. The parents of many of our students don’t have a clue what goes on in the classroom either. Our district sent a survey to parents. Did the teachers get a survey? NO! Did the teachers get asked for their input on how we would reopen schools? NO! I have not received one document from my teachers’ union, local or state, regarding any of this. Why am I paying dues if there is to be little or no representation.
Hi Michael,
We are, in South Africa, busy fazing in the grades to come back to school, as our school year ends in December. It is pretty tough, as there is tape all over the school to enforce social distancing, not to mention all the sanitizers, thermometers, and face masks. The first grade that has returned are Gr 7s. They have been split into two classes each to spread them out and the teachers move around the school to teach them. They are not allowed to do any group work, practical work, get books from the library etc. They sit at their desks as if in a university lecture hall and don’t move for most of the day. The children about whom teachers always complained would never keep quiet, are not saying anything. They hardly reply when asked questions and trying to have a class discussion is extremely difficult. I know they will eventually get used to the strange circumstances, but in the meantime it is very eerie at school. When my grade comes back, we will be doing one week teaching with half the class and the other half will do online classes, then we will swop. Not sure how that will work… ENJOY and make the most of your summer break!!! It’s a tough world right now.!
So Bars can open with 50 people capacity, however school still has to worry about social distancing. Something is backwards.
That is something I’ve thought about as well. I haven’t been evaluated, but I’m getting a little older and my hearing is not what it used to be. I’ve already had a bit of trouble hearing people while wearing one right now in a one-on-one situation, and of course teaching is not always that….