As COVID-19 alters the way we educate, students and parents are reflecting on where we are now and where we need to go once students return to in-person schooling.
This story was co-written and co-produced by Ryan Arel and Elvira Mora. Feature image courtesy of Flickr.
Some teachers in the Boston area say that teaching online is taking its toll on students, and that when they do return to school in person, time needs to be allocated for readjusting, as schools continue to operate online nationwide.
As students around the nation find their normal routines challenged by unprecedented circumstances, some students are not logging on at all, due to lack of access to computers or the internet. Aside from the technical obstacles of online learning, Aine Cook, a teacher at Boston Latin Academy for upperclassmen, said that she sees some of her students struggling under the new normalcy.
“My major concerns are for students with food inequity, undocumented students whose parents are now unemployed and some of them losing shelter,” said Cook. “They have no healthcare to speak of and so I have a class of students who suffer from depression and anxiety.”
A portion of her students haven’t kept up with assignments or logged into Zoom meetings. Cook suspects that the shift to virtual learning has not just taken a toll on their mental health but additionally, their confidence within a classroom setting.
Michael Maguire, a Latin teacher at Boston Latin Academy, said, “The [Zoom] videos aren’t perfect, I don’t really know what I’m doing and the best way I can explain it is it’s like trying to build a plane while you’re flying it.”
Maguire said he has decreased the normal workload severely and assigns his students to complete a grammar or small translation exercise once a day. Although about 90 percent of the class does the work and shows up through Zoom, he feels as though no one is learning and that he isn’t teaching.
“I’d say September and October has to really be all about getting [students] reacclimated to school life,” said Maguire.
He says that by getting children acclimated to virtual learning, schoolwork can be completed since the students are out of touch on what they should do without a classroom setting.
Hear more from Maguire.
For many, the transition from an in-person schooling format to a virtual one has not only been an alteration in the medium that teaching is done through, but an alteration in their daily routine entirely. Some parents’ roles in the educational process have been rapidly increasing as the struggle of transitioning online persists, while some parents find they have been able to take a step back.
Laura, who has a son in preschool and a daughter in first grade in Newton Public Schools, said she and her husband have seen their daughter become more “independent in getting her work done.” Laura said that many of the lessons are being delivered through educational softwares as well as Youtube lessons with teachers.
Laura’s last name, and the names of her children, have been omitted to protect their anonymity due to the nature of her job.
“She’s been able to make the transition. At first it was a little rough because she was used to being in the classroom,” Laura said. “[Now] we set her up in the morning, she does the Zoom calls, she goes through the worksheets… We’ve found that we’re playing less and less of a role in what she has to do.”
Doctors and psychologists say that these sudden changes in structure can challenge children and teen development. Dr. Richard Gallagher, in an article published by NYU Langone Health, said these times “can be difficult for children to understand. In general, people don’t do well when they are unsure about the future, even in an area as simple as the schedule.”
Hear more from Cook.
Laura said that her and her husband have been doing their best to ensure that their children develop a new routine that fulfills the new demands of online learning and staying home. She also said they have been doing playdates, ballet lessons and piano lessons via video conferencing, and although it is not the same, it has helped.
Laura also said her children do get emotional at times as a result of the changes in their previous normalcy, as their daily structure has and continues to change.
“I’d say 85 percent of the time, they seem okay and then the other 15 percent you can kind of see the stress weighing down on them,” Laura said. “I think they’re doing their best to stay occupied… every so often you can see the emotion weighing them down a little bit.”
According to The Boston Globe, back in March, around 15 percent of the 54,000 students affected in Boston did not have a laptop or computer at home for online learning. According to Boston Mayor, Martin J. Walsh, the City of Boston has provided over 30,000 Chromebooks to students in need since the start of school closures, additionally providing mobile hotspots to students in need of internet service.
The American Teachers Association has sent out a statement of exploring the possibility of starting fall classes by grouping some students in person and some through virtual learning. Neither the governor or the superintendent have confirmed or provided additional information.
Around the nation, both in K-12 and higher education, the fall remains uncertain as institutions grapple with the idea of moving to an online-only format for the fall semester.
Ryan Arel 