For more than a year, the coronavirus pandemic has been a learning experience for all of us. But it is difficult to imagine a cohort that has faced more disruption than teachers.
From having schools closed to teaching online to teaching in a hybrid setting — with some students in class and some online — instructors have had to rethink the fundamentals of their profession. As one longtime educator told The Columbian “You have to make some lemonade. It’s not the best of a bad situation, because it’s not a bad situation — it’s the situation.”
Classroom teachers have had to figure out how to combine lessons for students learning by remote with those for students sitting in front of them. This is particularly distressing for teachers at upper-level schools, where students change classes during the day, and the difficulties are exacerbated for specialty instructors who see all the students in a school — such as music or physical education teachers. Imagine trying to engage a student in a P.E. lesson when they are watching on a computer from their bedroom; there are not a lot of opportunities to get them moving.
According to the district, about 71 percent of students in Vancouver Public Schools are now in hybrid lessons — physically attending school part of the time. In the Evergreen district, the number is 65 percent.
Various studies have demonstrated that some students struggle with remote learning, particularly younger ones, and the impact on education will not be fully understood for years. But teachers have done their best in adjusting to chaos that wasn’t covered in their training.
“It’s so much more than the content we teach,” one instructor said. “It’s validating, encouraging and challenging our kids wherever they are in their lives. … We adapt as best we can, often imperfectly, just like they have.”
Local schools are preparing to welcome more students to classrooms. The Centers for Disease Control and the State of Washington have adopted new guidelines requiring 3 feet of distance between students, rather than 6 feet.
That will allow for increased numbers but will create other difficulties — 6 feet is still recommended when outside the classroom. We wish educators good luck in keeping kindergartners 6 feet apart when moving through the halls.
The good news is that studies have shown that schools are unlikely to be superspreaders of COVID-19. Students appear less likely to contract the disease and less susceptible to severe symptoms. The concern is that they can spread the virus to the adults in their lives. Clark County Public Health reports no current outbreaks related to exposure at schools.
While there are less than two months remaining in the school year, a return to class can be beneficial for students. Many students who have not been in a school building from March 2020 until September 2021 will find the adjustment particularly difficult when they do return.
Whether schools are fully reopened in the fall, with all or most students attending class in person, remains to be seen. The state Department of Health has a 22-page set of guidelines for the safe operation of schools, and the complexities of items ranging from bus transportation to lunch service are immense.
The hope is that infection rates by the fall allow for the full reopening of schools throughout Washington. Whether or not that is the case, we are confident that teachers will adjust as well as possible to effectively serve their students.
