Dorca is a Reading Development Teacher and Teacher Coach who oversees programs at a charter school in New York. She shares how remote learning has affected her as an educator and the families she works with.
On Sunday, March 15, 2020 Mayor De Blasio announced NYC schools would close due to COVID-19. As I sat on my couch watching his news briefing, I felt a great sense of relief. To be honest, I was under so much stress while at work, worrying each time a student coughed next to me, washing my hands hundreds of times and having students I work with wash their hands as well. However, a new worry began to develop. How would we teach students from our living rooms? How would they learn from their homes? What about the students who do not have access to technology or an internet connection?
Once the school closure announcement was made, my inbox started to get flooded. My charter network had started planning for remote learning weeks earlier because we all knew school closures were inevitable. We just didn’t know exactly when. A week before the closure, we were told to take our laptops and chargers home every evening, just in case schools would close overnight. And sure enough, that is what happened. Now we had days to finalize our remote learning plan and to put it into action.
The week of March 16th was used to train teachers on the new systems we would be implementing and to prepare. Our curriculum team chose Google Classroom as our main platform. Deans prepare videos for various subjects and teachers add them to their classrooms. Students are assigned homework they must complete and submit the following day.
It has almost been a month since the beginning of remote learning although it feels like a year! So much has happened since. Our whole team has stepped up to the challenge. Many of us thought it would be a luxury working from home, but there have been some stressful times. Teachers are constantly on the phone, talking to students and parents, coaching them through using google classroom, teaching them over the phone how to solve a math problem or listening to them read. It has been no easy feat, but I am proud of the work we have done and continue to do each day.
We are continuing to work out the kinks in the systems and meet the many challenges we face. Some students didn’t have access and still don’t have access to technology, some parents are struggling with the use of technology, some families are dealing with being infected by COVID-19 and some face other challenges.
I read somewhere the other day that “working from home” is very different from “staying home and trying to work during a pandemic.” I think the same can be said for our students and their families. They are struggling to stay home (if they have that option) and complete work for various reasons. In the coming weeks we hope to continue to strengthen our remote learning plan, and make it as easy as possible for families to engage in school work.
In the meantime, we celebrate small victories and continue to build strong classroom communities virtually. Our teachers have hosted talent shows, show and tells, and dance parties. We are trying to give our students some sense of routine and to give them opportunities to socialize with us and one another. Our hope is that years from now they’ll look back and cherish the memories they made in their virtual classrooms.
Check back on Thursday for tips for parents who are trying to navigate remote learning/homeschooling!
We’d love to hear how your families are adjusting to remote learning! Share your tips, tricks, or frustrations in the comments below! It’ll help educators like Dorca and families like yourself to better navigate these new ways of learning.
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