This post was sent by a teacher in Westchester County, New York, who prefers to remain anonymous:
Based on the hybrid/blended learning model described in the re-entry plan, this is what an average class period would look like in a typical 40-minute class. While an 80-minute class has more flexibility, the protocols are the same. This is a SMALL sampling of what life will be like for teachers and students in a hybrid model with the protocols outlined in the re-entry document.
This example would start at the transition between period 1 (which ends at 9:15am) and period 2 (which begins at 9:18am). In a 40- minute per class schedule, there are only three minutes between periods for all class periods. In an 80-minute per class schedule, there are only five minutes between periods for all class periods.
In this example, the “cohort” model where students stay in one spot and teachers move to them is not considered. It is not a practical solution for most classes—especially those that require supplies.
1. I just finished a class that ended at 9:15. I rush to my next class where another teacher is finishing a class that ends at 9:15. I do not like teaching in this room after this particular teacher because I do not trust that teacher to enforce social distancing and mask protocols. That teacher tends to be too lax. I need to go to the bathroom, but there were too many people waiting to get in (given the social distancing requirements). I did not want to risk leaving my students in the hallway given the risk of unsupervised interactions. Plus, the bathroom protocols are confusing. Overall, it’s unclear when I will be able to go to the bathroom at a safe time. I get to the room and I need to wait until all of the students from that class exit—presumably in a socially distanced manner (although that is unlikely since they will only have three minutes to get to the next class which starts at 9:18. My students are starting to arrive and begin to crowd me since there is no place to go. While waiting, I have no safe place to stand and there are students, teachers and other staff headed in all directions in the hallway. Once the classroom is clear, I rush in.
2. As the students from the first class leave, they encounter students waiting in the hallway who need to come in for my class. It is unlikely that they are following distancing or mask protocols because there is NO ONE supervising them, beyond a quick yell as a teacher passes–“hey get those masks on” “kids please separate–you can’t be closer than 6 feet.” It is highly unlikely that anyone will hear the teacher since it is quite loud (especially with multiple teens and pre- teens shouting for attention). The teacher will rush off to get to whatever class they need to get to. Or the teacher will ignore it entirely because the hallways will be the most dangerous places in the building–especially between classes.
3. Even if I arrive a minute or two after 9:15 (which is inevitable since I’m rushing from another class), I am concerned that my students will enter the room without monitored social distancing and mask wearing. The doors are propped open by protocol (to allow air flow), so there will be a period of time where the room is unsupervised.
4. Somehow in this time from 9:15 to 9:18, every surface is supposed to be disinfected. It is unclear who will do this or how it will be done. In all likelihood, it will not happen and as the day goes on, the room will become an ever-growing petri dish.
5. According to the protocols, students are supposed to wash their hands when they come in. After entering the room, some students make a beeline for their desks, while others head to the sink. There will be a breakdown in social distancing because it will be impossible to monitor this and have an organized method of entering, sitting, and washing hands. When there are only three minutes between classes, the transitions are inherently chaotic. A line forms in the crowded space leading to the sink. This will become a source of concern and I will have to say something like: “students please socially distance! Make sure you put those dirty towels in…..(not sure where that type of waste will go). Make sure you clean up that water that is now all over the floor and on the counters! That water is now contaminated— please try not to get water everywhere. Please hurry, we only have about 35 minutes for class. Oh, and I’m saying this on the opposite side of the room b/c I don’t want to be near you”
6. Eventually students go to their assigned square.
7. Students are carrying their supplies with them from class to class, so they put them………somewhere?
8. Now students students set up plexiglass that they are also carrying with them all day
9. About this time a student asks to go to the bathroom—which could be problematic. It is unclear when we are supposed to use the bathroom—there are apparently “designated times” for classes to go, and I don’t think this is our time. However, I allow the student to go because it looks like it will be a problem if I don’t. Before I allow the student to go, I remind the student to wear their mask and do not congregate in the hallway. And be sure to walk on the appropriate part of the hallway. And come straight back to class, again using the appropriate hallway (and stairs if applicable…it’s hard to keep track of which stairs and hallways are for which direction….I’m pretty sure the bathroom is in the middle of those one-way hallways…or it may be where there are lanes separating each side—but no one ever sticks to those lanes because….no one sees the tape and they are students and it is impossible to supervise).
10. When that student comes back, they will need to wash their hands. Again.
11. In the meantime, I am trying to open some of the windows for airflow, but many of the windows do not open properly. I am hesitant to go in the back of the room because of the proximity to students. I check the air conditioner to ensure that the airflow is on “fresh” air and not “circulate” since circulated air is supposed to spread the virus. At this point, my only thought is about protecting myself against the virus. After a week of this, I am sure I will be in a heightened state of anxiety since every minute of every day will require constant monitoring of my surroundings. Anyway, I’m not sure if the air conditioner is set correctly and I’ve lost too much time already.
12. Some students will arrive late because some of the hallways and staircases are directional–meaning they might need to circle the building to go in the proper direction. Some students may get lost going this way. Others may bump into friends, take off their masks and chat. Some students may find this system highly stressful which will make it even harder for them to follow the “get to class protocol.” Some students may drop their box of material while trying to balance their jacket, box and plexiglass (and any other items they may be carrying since lockers are not in use).
13. I wait until late students wash their hands and set up at their spot.
14. At best, it is now 9:28 (10 minutes into class). Likely, it is after 9:30. Best case scenario, there are 30 minutes left (not including packing up and cleaning and leaving in a socially distanced manner). 15. Now I need to set up livestreaming. The second half of my class have been waiting at home for class to start (at 9:18), however given all of the protocols we must follow in the building, it is impossible to start at 9:18. I’m concerned that students will get impatient and leave. As I try to livestream, there are complications. It’s Zoom and there are always complications. Also, we have webcams, but the only ones available to purchase are off-brand copies of major label webcams that have been sold out since March. While they look nice, they are glitchy. Plus, the computer that the webcam is attached to is an older computer with older hardware and limited RAM. It is difficult to stream to 10 or so students with older technology. While our bandwidth has improved, every class is attempting to stream at the same time. Plus, every cell phone, Chromebook and laptop in the building is tapping into WIFI. We always have slowdowns mid-day. It takes me about five minutes (if I’m lucky) to connect with the half of my class that is at home. While I’m doing this, the in-class students have nothing to do and start to become restless and talk to each other. Students often lower their masks to talk and I start to notice this out of the corner of my eye, but I’m trying to make the livestreaming work.
16. As I finally get the remote students on board, I turn around to ensure students are socially distanced, have their masks on and are sitting in their assigned square. I reprimand at least several students for having masks below their noses. While I address the issues in the classroom, the remote students have nothing to do—some of them turn off their camera. It is now 9:35 (if I’m lucky and there are minimal tech problems on the livestream side and few issues of social distancing on the classroom side).
17. A student asks for a scheduled mask break–he can’t breathe. Several other students complain too. I say, “not now, I need to get started.” Those students are upset at me. One is really embarrassed that I said their name because the students at home heard it and they know the class is being livestreamed. Some students have expressed concern that their friends will secretly record the class or take screenshots and put them on Instagram. Even worse, they worry about becoming a meme. I am a little worried about this too. The students at home are really bored.
18. Now I need to take attendance. It’s halfway through the period already. I must take attendance for two different sets of students. Technology problems will make this longer—there are always problems with our attendance program. It slows mid-day when many classes are using the network. The livestreaming has placed a huge strain on our bandwidth needs.
19. Finally, I explain the directions for the class. However, I need to find a place to stand where both groups can see me. I generally stand in the same spot all period due to social distancing rules.
20. I am not able to move around room due to social distancing concerns.
21. I will be teaching with a mask and a shield. Communication will be difficult. Students will ask me to repeat information—although this will be difficult to do from home, so they will tune out and pretend to be listening. Students will grow to hate these mandatory livestreams. They will tell their parents that it is a waste of time. It’s really difficult to understand anything (b/c the microphones on the off-brand webcams do not work well), plus they can’t do many of the activities that I insist should be doable at home. Although, it is difficult to determine this since there is no research about best-practices for a hybrid classroom where half the students are at home and the other half are in the classroom. To be honest, I am completely winging this. There is no time to prepare these lessons and I have no prior material to fall back on. Even though I am a veteran teacher, I have no idea how to teach in this model—no one does. I spend most of my day trying to stay safe.
22. Teaching is a bit awkward. I’m not sure who to look at. When I look at my in-class students, I’m staring at a group of evenly spaced students with masks (most are hanging slightly askew). I then turn around to see a Brady bunch group of students looking like they are being tortured. Somehow, I need to find inspiration. We are just about ready to do an activity. It’s now 9:42 (at best)
23. The “lesson” now begins—we have 16 minutes left. Some days it will be a PowerPoint that will somehow have to be presented to two different groups in two different locations—I never remember where to direct my voice. I try to get passionate about the subject but then remember that jumping around with a face shield and getting sweat and spittle on the inside of my mask is really disconcerting—so I tone it down. Plus, I look crazy jumping around in that get up. Also, moving around erratically causes my shield to shift and my mask to slide down my face. On other days, students will do an activity. Students will not be able to collaborate given the two different environments and the need to socially distance in the classroom. Activities will be severely limited to accommodate social distancing and a remote audience. I will not be able to distribute materials— especially for classroom work—because the group at home will not be able to participate. If a student needs one on one help to understand the handout, I will not be able to help due to social distancing. I’ll try to help from afar. It’s really difficult to address questions from two different sets of students so I focus more on the in-class students. The students at home become progressively more disengaged. Lessons in this environment will most certainly be rote and dry. There will be minimal engagement.
At 9:53, I start to wrap things up to get the class ready for the next group. I’m very anxious about these transition times. Students need to make sure they have all of their belongings in their box. They need to clean the plexiglass and take it with them. Supplies used in class (if they belong in class) must be cleaned. The remote group has already signed out b/c there is nothing for them to do. In fact, they only had about 10 minutes worth of “learning.”
The class ends at 9:58 and the next class begins at 10:01—and this happens all over again.
It turns out that my prep period is from 10:01 to 10:41. This is when I am supposed to prep for classes and/or grade material. This is especially important now because every lesson must be prepared anew to fit this hybrid environment. However, there is no place for me to go. The hallways are jammed. I cannot stay in the classroom due to social distancing protocols. Plus, it would be awkward if I end up on the livestream of another class. I try to strategically plan when I can use the bathroom safely. However, I do not want to remain in the building. There literally is no room for me to go to. The faculty lounge has limited occupancy—plus, the ventilation in there is terrible and I do not want to be in another room with many other people—some of whom may not be wearing their masks correctly. So, I decide to go to my car. To get there, I have to use a specified exit which is on the opposite side of the building of my car. By the time I navigate to the proper exit and wander over to my car, it’s 10:15. If I used the bathroom, then it is probably 10:25. I lie down in my car seat for 10 minutes max. Then I have to race back to the proper entrance (and go through an entrance exam?) to get to my next class on time. Obviously nothing is planned or graded during this time.
Multiply this by 6 classes. Add in lunch and specials. And there WILL be other challenges that I didn’t address. These are just the most obvious.
I question how much learning would occur in this environment. I’m worried about my health and the health of my students and the community as a whole.
Authorities could have asked ANYONE who has taught in K-12 . . . what this teacher is talking about is as predictable as sunrise. We are really asking for it. CBK
yup
Good morning Diane and everyone,
Yup. That’s pretty much what it will look like on the SS Titanic of school openings.
That was actually better. The Titanic had some lifeboats and they did prioritize women and children.
Also, the Titanic was a chosen & planned excursion (although the design & shortage of lifeboats caused the tragic results).
All of the above as described doesn’t HAVE to be. C-19 has been with us long enough that we know what we know, & what we DO know is that the spread is so prevalent because it is airborne & easily spread (& would, of course be less spread if people would just wear the masks & social distance, wearing masks being key.
So–WHY are schools even opening when we know this, & we know all of what anonymous writes above WILL occur. Hell, it’s already occurred: I haven’t seen the latest #s yet, but, as of yesterday, I believe it was 1200 exposed in GA school(s) & are those–& other schools that have opened (e.g.,Indiana) going to keep opening & closing & opening & closing?
Worse than nonsense: total INSANITY!!!
This isn’t even a case of “flying the airplane while building it” (education Arne Duncan style). It’s a case of doing the absolute worst thing possible…because we know what we know and–what we also know is–not only are students NOT going to get an education, but that people are going to get sick, many dying, as a result,
This detailed account, along with those posted by Mercedes Schneider, should be widely circulated. Teachers cannot just “do their job” when there are ridiculous schedules, with multiple formats for instruction and, in this case, a belief that normal schedules for classes will work.
Oh and meanwhile back at the farm… Governor Cuomo is appealing a ruling by a judge that weddings can have over 50 people. So…Governor Cuomo…no weddings of 50 people yet hundreds of people can be in school buildings at once. Yup. Makes sense.
Mamie You forget, . . . THIS is about kids and teachers, who don’t REALLY matter. CBK
Hello Catherine,
Oh jeez! How stupid of me!!! How could I forget?!!? 🙂 🙂
Mamie Sigh . . . logic only gets us so far. CBK
It would be absurd if outsiders–non-experts–made such “plans” for teaching during the pandemic, but at least one could chalk this up to their ignorance, their lack of experience. But for school officials to make such plans is simply malfeasance. Where are the brave administrators saying, “Sorry. This cannot be done?”
Unless this is a private school, public schools in Westchester County, NY haven’t started yet – and I don’t think private and parochial schools have started yet.
Teacher doesn’t say they’ve started. It’s based on the detailed reopening plan they’ve received.
Teachers who would not vote for Hillary: I wonder if there is second guessing going on now.
People wanted change with Trump. They got it big time.
They wanted someone who knew nothing about governance.
They got that too.
We sure are better off with T. in the White House.
Gordon,
I worked for Hillary. I gave money to her campaign. I wrote often her about why it was important to vote for her. Trump is far, far worse than I imagined. He seeks out the lowest common denominator and appeals to them. The irony is that his policies benefit his wealthy friends, not the people who voted for him. He sneers at them. They can’t pay the price of admission to Mar-a-Lago $250,000) or the Bedminster Golf club ($350,000).
In the middle of a pandemic we should also be asking if technology is helpful or a hindrance. So many factors related to technology are beyond the purview of the teacher. When I taught middle and high school many years ago, I took attendance by quickly scanning the room, and marking absentees in my ancient roll book. It must have taken about fifteen seconds. Technology is not helpful if teachers must spend an inordinate amount of time getting the elements to work correctly while also managing the class and getting ready for the lesson.
The image of this whole thing that keeps coming up for me is snorkeling in mud!! Just trying to breathe but swimming through a mud mess of technology and crazy scheduling and information everywhere!!!
Excellent analogy, Mamie!
Bob Somedam should write a poem about snorkeling in the mud. CBK
The “plans” to reopen are nothing but crud.
Teaching like this is snorkeling in mud.
The cost will be measured in people’s blood,
And not just of teachers: that let us own.
The country will reap what morons have sown.
Then people will say, “We could not have known
Where this utter failure of policy led,
To hundreds of thousands of citizens dead.”
These policy makers are light in the head.
Bob What can I say . . . . CBK
OK. It’s not the greatest poem. This I admit.
Bob You read me wrongly. I meant you nailed it. CBK
I didn’t impute such a thing to you, CBK! All in fun! Love to you and yours.
Snorkeling in mud–not anyone’s wish
Unless they want to swim with the fish.
Sorry. That one was in really bad taste. This is nothing to make light of. A preventable disaster.
At my last school, we had to keep attendance in one of those old-school attendance books AND mark it online at the beginning of each class AND check it against an absentee list posted at the end of the day in the teacher’s mailbox room AND, in homeroom, mark it on an attendance slip and send it to the office, and at the end of each marking period, mark it all over again on attendance sheets sent to the District Office. That’s five times doing the same stuff because, of course, teacher time is unlimited.
Teacher time is like the horn in the Scandinavian folktales that you can drink and drink and drink from but never empty. Or at least administrators seem to think that this is so.
And this is how the computerization of things saved us time.
There’s a way to keep this sort of nonsense from happening: TEACHER GOVERNANCE OF SCHOOLS
Disaster. And we are headed straight into it knowing fully what is likely to occur. Our unions need to be forceful and start playing hardball.
mathman YES, YES, YES! CBK
This is appalling. For those of us fortunate to have kept our jobs during the pandemic, we’ve all noticed that work gets harder and more intricate. In my case I have to plan for 2-3 scenarios in detail knowing that only one will (might) be possible. But I have the luxury of not having to interact personally with people, much less children. We must share these stories with those not in education so that they are less cavalier about putting people’s lives at risk. This morning I saw a clip of an interview with blowhard former football coach–and now commentator–Lou Holtz who compared playing college football with D-Day!!! That lives were lost for the greater good!! The prevailing sickness goes much, much deeper than the pandemic.
Hi GregB,
Right. It takes so much more time to work with computers. And many teachers will be losing planning time in these new schedules. Instead of simplifying, many schools are making things more difficult by complicating schedules and other things. We are trying to do the same things in a different environment and it is untenable. I wish schools would be more flexible and say ok, maybe the kids can’t learn the same things in the same ways. It’s a pandemic! How can we make things simpler for everyone knowing that everyone’s home and work life will be more complicated. But no. We have to do things the way we’ve always done them. Reminds me of Emerson and a foolish consistency.
I just spent 3 hours putting together my first test for one of my classes. It’s the same basic test I have given for 7 years (with a change of a couple of questions every now and then). I can’t just copy and paste into the online format–it must all be typed in separate windows. Since I only have my students one day a week, I can’t do testing, and this is an AP class, so they have to get used to the test, because you know College Board will insist on EVERYTHING being covered, even though I only see the class once a week.
Online only would be infinitely easier, because at least I’d only be planning on one platform instead of two (live and online).
Technology–ain’t it fun? (sarcasm)
That video is freaking hilarious, Greg! Thanks for sharing it!
My goodness, these people are stupid and evil. DeSantis wants to reclaim his putrid crown from Kemp:
https://crooksandliars.com/2020/08/gov-ron-desantis-compares-kids-going-back
You know why you can’t buy a Ron DeSantis bobblehead doll? He won’t allow their sale because they are utterly indistinguishable from the real thing.
Here’s the super the Jr. Idiot (not to be confused with the Idiot, Jr.) quoted: https://www.martinschools.org/Page/7706
I would have thought you couldn’t get the DeSantis bobblehead because the head was filled with helium and kept floating away. Truly amazing what a lot of money can buy these days. Death, destruction, illegitimacy.
Greg, since you turned me on to the Handel, I have, in turn, a gift for you. Schiff gives an illuminating talk about each of the Beethoven piano sonatas and then plays it masterfully. This is gold: https://wigmore-hall.org.uk/podcasts/andras-schiff-beethoven-lecture-recitals
Let me preface my reaction by acknowledging the writer brings up many valid pedagogical impediments we’re all anticipating, points to some admin time-wasters that need re-thinking, & raises many things we haven’t thought much about yet– like how bandwidth/ streaming/ device inadequacies will inevitably bigly undermine any ed value to the at-home cohort. Like how the peculiarity of bldg layout + covid protocols could have unintended, covid-unsafe & otherwise consequences
Nevertheless.
I find it hard to believe this is actually based on a detailed reopening procedure in Westchester County. This is way different than my NJ town’s plan.
OK, they’ve used cohorts to halve the # of students present, but their set-up maximizes close contact for any number. Otherwise, the “planners” seem to have simply added sinks, signs, & student-carried plexiglas barriers [LOL!] to pre-covid SOP daily schedule. Add teachers futilely yelling “hey kids remember to do this & that!” and stir. School motto must be Nike’s “Just do it.”
Is this for real?
The biggest flaw is right here: “In this example, the “cohort” model where students stay in one spot and teachers move to them is not considered. It is not a practical solution for most classes—especially those that require supplies.” HUH?? Not practical in what context? Doing the opposite is “not practical” in the context of avoiding instant rise in community viral spread. Get practical. Forget about in-person science labs, substitute w/youtube. Can’t teach it w/o “supplies,” it doesn’t get taught. Either dump electives altogether or get creative— maybe a french teacher arrives once/wk to teach 6 of the kids, while the other 9 do h.w. at desks.
This school admin is from hunger.
I wrote this essay. This description is 100% from our re-entry plan. Southern Westchester. Very high achieving district. Completely moronic and impossible to implement plan (yet we are marching right toward it). I dissected every stupid word in that 100 page plan. I wrote the essay one night as a means to manage the madness brewing in my head after my first read through of the document. Given the structure of our school, the schedule created by our admin, the instructional requirements for each class and a complete lack of creativity, having cohorts IN THIS PLAN is impossible. In fact admin just ruled out.
Great piece!
Thank you, Dan, for helping people imagine what so many of us have been concerned about. In my district, I have not yet heard specific plans about hallways and bathrooms, plus the “being in two places at the same time” aspect, mask and distancing supervisory realities, and Internet bandwidth, etc. Your piece should go viral.
I am so glad I retired from teaching when I did. (June, 2018 with the most pleasant classroom of 2nd graders). Just thinking about what I would need to do (and where do I store my classroom sets of novels, science kits, math manipulatives) gives me a tense headache.
And now for my issues with my own town’s reopening plan.
Classes split into cohorts A/B. A in-person Mon/ Thu, B in person Tue/ Fri. Wed virtual for all (except elemsch cohorts alternate Weds in person)
A.M. SESSION 8:30-12:30 in person and live-streamed to the other cohort & the all-remote kids. At-homers see only teacher & whiteboard, can’t interact. There will be mask breaks & screen breaks. High-schoolers are getting period 1-4 classes the first day, period 5-8 classes the second day. Wed is virtual for all: 8 shortened [25-min] classes. Midsch similar but fewer [longer?] classes.
P.M. SESSION kinda fuzzy (start time? length?) – videoconference/ zoom-style for “small-group teaching,” consultation w/teachers. Looks like a focus on Q&A for the kids that were doing remote during a.m. Wed afternoon looks like teacher planning & staff mtgs.
Periods include 1 PE class & a shortened “other” [maybe “SEL”].
Bottom line: with our district’s plan for midsch& hisch, each subject is allotted– per week– 1-1/2 classes + 1/2hr of videoconferenced review/ Q&A/ live interaction. Note that for the all-remote kids, 1 of the 1-1/2 classes is just watching/ listening – no teacher interaction.
Knowing our district, the tech will be smooth, close to flawless. But the drawbacks are worse than I’d imagined. We’re not just talking about the inferiority of mostly-remote: this goes well beyond that. Even though the district has wisely acknowledged the limitations of remote ed by reserving the afternoon for reinforcing the morning lessons in smaller, live interactions. Even though they’ve intelligently chosen fewer full-length classes over a bunch of 25-min classes.
But the thinking just doesn’t go far enough.
What can you possibly learn about anything in a total of 2 hrs/wk that’s broken up into [roughly] 50 mins Mon a.m. in person, 25mins Mon aft online [focused mainly on filling in gaps for at-homers who had to mutely watch Mon a.m.’s class], and 25 mins Wed online– then you don’t return to that subject until Mon again? That 25mins Wed is going to have to be review of Mon, in hopes of retaining it until next Mon or the whole thing will just be groundhog day [the movie].
If you’ve only got half the normal time to work with, why would you try to pursue the same number of subjects? You’ve already got the distraction of split days & 2-3 modes of teaching– now you double the topics in the time available. Didn’t anybody consider dividing the year into trimesters while concentrating on just 2 subjects at a time? And how about increasing focus/ retention by having each cohort attend 2 days in a row?
This looks nutty to me. Even in a state where covid stats are low [NJ is at 1.45% infection rate], this will increase community spread, which will further disrupt a fragmented schedule– for this ?
and entire areas/states will be paying in higher and higher virus numbers: not just kids and school personnel being used as the guinea pigs
ciedie If I may, YES to that. I hope I am wrong, but it feels to me like a tsunami coming.
And in terms of the economy, I feel like we are looking at the twin towers . . . just before they fell. CBK
Excellent questions, Bethree!
Imagine all this in Brazil. Where, in public schools (*), some children no longer have the correct hygiene habits. And government (**) officials do not offer adequate structures and equipment.
They even suggested that each child take 4 masks to change at school and to change shoes. An absurd suggestion, as many do not have more than one shoe, and many do not even have a single mask.
WE ARE STILL WITHOUT PRESENTIAL CLASSES SINCE MARCH.
**We have already surpassed 11 thousand deaths and we have no Minister of Health since May 15.
Horrific
Those who are constantly pushing to go “paperless” are in heaven these days. How did these people get to run our schools? Sad, IMHO.
We need to call out the false narrative that students have been out of school too long. It just is not true. They have only lost 3 months of in class instruction which has been replaced by online learning to some extent. Given that online learning is probably less than half as effective let’s say students have lost only 2 months.
I despise distance learning! The good news here is that perhaps when this is over those forces who have pushed for this will see the errors of their ways. ( Wishful thinking, but will never happen)
So far we have been treading water, barely keeping our heads up. We need to keep doing that until it’s time to swim. Keep schools closed! A vaccine could be here by the end of the year. That’s only 4 months away..
Kids are resilient, missing 6 months is easily overcome with good effective teaching. Teaching the way we know how to do best and not depended on some consultant’s theory after barely being in the classroom.
Now is the time to keep children and staff safe. Safety should be first and foremost. Yes people need money. That is what our Federal government should be addressing. Trading off safety so mom and dad can earn a paycheck is not the way.
Unfortunately, the plan now has been shifted to once again make teachers the scapegoats instead of planning for a successful return. This just makes me sick.
rratto My son and daughter-in-law have three school-age children. It’s a computer-driven nightmare; but still, I advise them to stay home. They took a road trip in their camper to visit some friends in Utah–and visited national parks . . an education all by itself, to be sure. CBK
Oh good heavens, don’t come to Utah right now. Our numbers are dropping, but testing has dropped dramatically, and I think there’s a lot of Covid hidden around.
PLUS, the national parks here have been horrendously crowded. NO social distancing at all, no chance to really appreciate the parks with all of the crowding, and a lot of people who refuse to wear masks.
Please, come when things are a bit more “normal.” And spring or fall are your best best–the “Big Five” national parks here are pretty crowded even in a normal summer.
Threatened They already went and came back. They had been cooped up together in a small house with no friends or soccer games, or whatever. They were climbing the walls. The trip was a good thing by comparison. But thank you for the invitation. CBK
TOW, I so want to add to your comment, but I’m threatened in my own way. Maybe someday.
Speaking in terms of “months lost” furthers the false narrative. That “lost” in refers to yesterday, to pre-covid community life no longer available right now. We should restrict use of words like “gained” and “lost” to lives and livelihoods. Goals should be, e.g., preserving as much of our community and its way of life as humanly possible until after successful vaccine is widely available.
We have to find a state of suspended animation, feeding community only what’s required for survival, until transmission rate is so low that we can tiptoe out and do a bit more to maintain livelihoods– find a partial level of animation pre-vaccine, a viable co-existence w/ the virus.
We should be speaking of sacrifices to those goals, and be proud to make them for the good of the community, the country, the world. It means sacrificing every any social-contact activity we can do without, and school is one of them. All our national energy and resources should be poured into supporting the social activity required for human survival: food, health/ medicine, protecting/ testing/ tracing/ treating, maintaining businesses of those who bring it to us, and their children’s babysitters. Fed-printed $$ to keep all unemployed eating under a secure roof, & govt to make it happen.
It’s a tall order for any nation. But you can’t even move in that direction without the goals defined, & govt leadership & political will to accomplish. Our nation is a sad & sorry example of how to fail at this.
I always burn when I read pieces that talk about how easy teachers have it. My experience: the main thing about teaching is that THERE WAS NEVER ENOUGH TIME. There were always insane administrative demands on teacher time. In my last year, I had five preps and 180 students. If I assigned a single five-paragraph theme to them, that would be 900 paragraphs, or about three novels’ worth of error-filled pages to read and respond to. Yet people make these “plans” that assume that teachers have unlimited time to add stuff to their schedules. And, of course, reopening is just insane anyway during an airborne pandemic. “Simplify. Simplify. Simplify,” Thoreau said.
Simplify is right. Let’s prioritize the most important thing: delivering content lucidly. That is the heart of school.
“I need to go to the bathroom, but there were too many people waiting to get in (given the social distancing requirements).”
For most of the thirty years that I was a public school teacher, to avoid needing to go to the bathroom, I stopped drinking any liquids before I left home early in the morning to drive to work, and that was without a pandemic and social distancing requirements. The next time I had something to drink was after the last bell rang and my last class left for the day.
The reason for that was the district where I taught allowed 7-minute passing periods between classes to avoid giving the gangbangers time to start fights or riots. Teachers were expected to be waiting at their door for the next class. There wasn’t time to go to the bathroom unless the teacher was willing to risk losing their job. Teachers were held responsible if a fight broke out between students in your next class because you were not there to stop it before it happened.
From my first class to lunch was a not-going to the bathroom marathon, and then a sprit at lunch to see who would get to the nearest faculty bathroom when our 30-minute lunch arrived. Again, the 30-minute time period to eat lunch before the next class was another effort to not allow the gangbangers time to start fights or riots.
The district cut the passing period to 5 minutes for more test prep. It’s not enough time to visit a restroom or a locker. Lunch is 30 minutes. Students still wait in line for food with 10 minutes left. Nutrition or recess time is down in many cases to 10 minutes. Test scores! No excuses! Resilience! Grit! Rigor!
It’s abuse.
Treating people like animals doesn’t make for less fighting, either. The right way to stop fighting is with more counselors, a better student to faculty ratio, and more time to be outside, not less.
Hey, even animals get to pee & eat on demand.. This is some kind of warped human torture. Probably barely puts a crimp in gangbanger agenda either, just makes everyone else miserable.
How does it feel, teachers, to have your feeding & elimination needs shoved behind those of admins catering to gangbangers and the testing industry?
First, the problems of reopening unsafely are not just predictable, they’re predicted. We’ve been screaming from the rooftops about it. The only people who think it’s acceptable are people who don’t have friends and family who have to do it.
Second, as a teacher (who will be teaching online from home next week) I can’t help as I read it but put myself in the shoes of the teacher who wrote this real life horror story. It raises my pulse. I keep having to stop and catch my breath. My investment banker superintendent is watching New York reopening, looking for sunny success stories he can use to reopen Los Angeles as soon as he can get away with it. I haven’t even set foot in my classroom and yet I’m frightfully ill at ease.
This is fiction. Schools haven’t reopened here!
He wrote it after reading the reopening plan and imaging the realities of what might be coming.
That’s DeINSANEtis to y’all.
&…Brian Kemp? He gets my vote for The Darwin Award (which goes to the least evolved on the planet).
In the “why don’t we see what other nations do” department…
Just read one of Jane Harper’s novels & came across [well-educated] contemporary characters in their 30’s & 40’s from remote Australian areas harking back to their primary & secondary “School of the Air” ed. These characters learned at home via radio lessons, & their contemporary kids were still doing it via more modern tech despite living in remote & even outback Australia.
Confirmed via wiki– it still goes on, via “live one-way audio feeds and clear two-way audio… Each student typically spends one hour per day receiving group or individual lessons from the teacher, and the rest of the day working through the assigned materials with a parent, an older sibling, or a hired home-stay tutor.” Virtual school classes unite in person for one week every year. “Studies have shown that such education has a parity with, if not better standards, than traditional schooling.”
Fascinating
The assault on all our institutions is truly mind-boggling. Add this to the “collective exhaustion” I feared after the 2016 election; in addition to education, public health, checks and balances, we knew the postal service was on the line. How intricate is it? They are removing mailboxes from the one state that has had mail-in ballots the longest, likely in the neighborhoods that are most Democratic [not sic]: https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/08/usps-removes-mailboxes-in-portland-and-eugene-cites-declining-mail-volume.html
This is a completely hypothetical scenario because schools have not opened here. Whether s/he is right remains to be seen. I’m not saying s/he right or wrong. I just don’t appreciate the somewhat misleading tone that this is what her day actually is.
The author of the post says that in fact the schools have reopened in his district. See his comment on the thread, above.
No, he says it’s based on the re-entry plan sent out by his district. Our schools in Westchester County, NY have NOT reopened. I am in southern Westchester County as well. NY schools, for the most part, open after Labor day weekend.
His words:
“I wrote the essay one night as a means to manage the madness brewing in my head after my first read through of the document.”
No I did not say schools opened. As of today, we are scheduled to open on September 8. If we do open, I will need to take a leave without pay because the District’s plan will provide an unsafe environment for anyone who is in that building.
My apologies, Dan. Clearly I read through the comments too quickly.
I make it very clear at the beginning of the essay that this is what a portion of the day would look like under our proposed re-entry plan. It’s obvious that it’s hypothetical. (I wrote this)
Actually, Dan, it is not very clear. “Clear” would be if you had written a preface or disclaimer stating schools have not opened in your district.
Yes, I read it carefully and I realize that it is what you imagine your day would be like, however, a number of the comments are clearly written with the belief that you have actually experienced this situation and it fans the flames of fear based on one person’s interpretation of a hypothetical.
I am NOT arguing about your opinion/premise of the fiction. I hope your district will go all virtual for September at least, like mine just did.
All true. However, as we all know it is not about learning but babysitting.
There are lots of armchair educators who claim that because schools have effective “dress codes”, that mask wearing should be just as easily enforceable. The author debunks this idea using clear examples. However the idea refuses to die in the world of non-educators.
Multiply this by 6 classes. Then multiply that by 90+ days!!!!!!
Thank you for this article. I am also a teacher in Westchester at a very elite public school that prides itself on being the best and a strong SEL program via Ruler.
They have hired an outside contractor to come in and build our schedule that leaves us with a lunch period in which we eat with children in our own rooms who are unmasked, pods that actually consist of 28 students and are not really pods as these are two pods intermingling. My colleagues and I are a mess. We cry at night worried about our health, the health of our families, the health of the families that attend our schools.
It feels like suffocating. It feels like a slow death. Administrators hold question and answer sessions where they answer to questions but tell us we are amazing and doing the best they can. The constant response is refer to the CDC guidelines for nearly every question. Why do we need these leaders if we are being led by a piece of paper. Administrators are afraid to answer questions and afraid to own their decisions.
If you look at their Twitter accounts they’re “brave” people making “hard” choices. In reality they’re working with lawyers to be master wordsmiths. They want to avoid being held liable and their fear comes through on every meeting. They want to advertise we can do what no other district can to placate parents who have grown tired of the current desert of indecision.
Our union will fight but teachers are passive and I’m worried how many will make the hard choice to be truly brave when others can not be.
We are all drowning. We are all suffocating. I fear for our mental health. I worry so much about my vulnerable colleagues. I don’t see myself making it through this year without resigning.
This isn’t a labor negotiation, this isn’t an argument on how a prep will be spent, this isn’t questions the districts curriculum decisions; this is our health, this is our life. Where are our building administrators?
There’s a lot of truth in here, but I’m confused about something. Near the start, she says “In this example, the “cohort” model where students stay in one spot and teachers move to them is not considered.”, then she proceeds to say “I just finished a class that ended at 9:15. I rush to my next class where another teacher is finishing a class that ends at 9:15. I do not like teaching in this room after this particular teacher because I do not trust that teacher to enforce social distancing and mask protocols.” If the students are changing classes, wouldn’t ALSO having teachers change classrooms be extremely rare?
Interesting you assume the author is a she. Nope I’m a he (I wrote it).
Anyway, this is exactly what is in our District’s re-entry plan. If you are a teacher with multiple preps, you switch rooms with the students. There are 9 periods so this will happen 9 times a day. Between classes in the hallways, lunch and going to the bathroom will be the most dangerous times of the day.
It’s mind boggling how convoluted this plan is.
I am sorry this just isn’t fair. Right now we should do school in Zoom. Lives are precious. You sound like a wonderful teacher. I am a sustitute and love the kids and the staff very much. I want all to be safe and do zoom for at least 3 to 4 months and then talk again