September 17, 2021
I have had the privilege of teaching in a broad array of settings. I have taught formally, informally, in public schools, in private schools, in a class with over 30 students, and in one on one tutoring sessions. I have taught students as young as three up through high school. I have even taught in three different states in three different regions of the U.S. As I gathered this broad teaching experience, I also gathered some amazing friends along the way. I know teachers all across the United States, and some even living in other countries. I have had the privilege of growing old enough to see some of my former students become amazing teachers themselves. I know teachers; I know their hearts; I know their job; and I know they are not okay!
The life and work of every teacher has changed drastically in the past year and a half. My husband asked me what I would have done if I had been single when this pandemic started. I have been struggling with wearing a mask, and could not wear one long enough to even go grocery shopping. I have started hyperventilating watching someone else talk in a mask with the mask moving in and out as they breathe. There is no way I would have been able to teach in a mask. I would have had to find some type of permanent virtual position. Thankfully, I have been able to stay home and homeschool using grocery pick up and other such means while trying to build up my mask wearing ability. Other teachers have not had that luxury. Not everyone can choose to just stay home. In fact, in-person schooling is dependent upon teachers coming into the building! Each teacher is facing multiple personal changes and challenges related to the pandemic. Maybe they have a loved one struggling with illness; maybe they have lost someone. They may be trying to help their own kids learn and thrive in these less than perfect days while also trying to help their students feel safe and welcome in a less than welcoming environment. These teachers must not only be present, but they must also teach students who are not mentally and emotionally prepared to learn.
There are several factors that affect learning. While it is true that engaging lessons will breed interest and boost retention, students have to be present to be engaged. Students may not regularly attend school for multiple reasons. Sometimes they don't even have a say in those circumstances. If they or someone in their home is sick, they may have to stay home and learn virtually. They may have multiple days in which they are too sick to participate in learning. Some students are physically present, but their mind and emotions are elsewhere. Maybe someone they know is sick or has passed away. Maybe they have heard something that makes them anxious about the day. Some are from families that are struggling to survive. Students who are worried about basic necessities, such as food and safety, are not able to be engaged; they are focused on surviving. In our current situation, students are worried about a great many things. Their schedule is volatile. The safe and steady assurance of eight hours of consistent expectations and one or two meals a day for five days a week is gone. There is no guarantee that the way the school year starts will continue. At any time the school may be shut and learning may go virtual. This is now something that has happened before. Along with that, they are concerned about their health or the health of their family members. The amount of information given to students will vary based on what their parents have told them or the news to which they have given access. However, news spreads quicker than a virus in those crowded hallways and classrooms. They will observe the fear in adults, they will share what they know, and they will be worried. Think about how the adults you know are handling things and know that it is even harder for children.
All of these factors have been piled on to teachers with unrealistic expectations. How can they teach like any other year? This is not the same. They have their own families to be concerned about as well as their own safety concerns as they enter the school building. Teachers have always been expected to work long hours above and beyond anything written in a contract. They are performing a year's worth of work in only ten months. It has always been more work for a teacher to miss a day of school. Now they not only have the work of sub plans, but some will have to stay home for extended periods, possibly multiple times in a year. Some schools are asking them to teach from home even when they are sick. They have students who enjoyed the flexibility of working on their own time at their own speed (or not working at all) last year who resent being back in a building for a block of time with the same schedule each day. There are mandates from federal, state, and local officials to which they must comply. They must be concerned with not only their own safety, but also that of hundreds of children. Just as students struggle to learn in survival mode, it is also difficult to teach in survival mode. Many teachers are mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted, and it's only the beginning of the school year!
I'm sure most people know at least one teacher. These teachers need our encouragement, prayer, and maybe a gift basket. Help them with some classroom supplies. Offer them dinner one weeknight. Offer to help them with school preparations, which is especially helpful to elementary teachers who have to do a bit more prep work for students. If you have children in school, talk to them and help them feel safe at school. Be a partner with their teacher knowing they care about your child too! Volunteer at the school as much as you are able. Above all, remember that teachers are rarely involved in the political decisions of the school boards, counties, states, or federal government decisions, guidelines, and mandates. Don't berate them for policy decisions. They are trying to survive too.