Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash
By Jessica Vargas
Last year in early March, the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. There were many changes that had to be made, quarantine was a must, schools were making the switch online, and masks and hand sanitizers were required if you were to leave the house. More than a year later, some things have remained the same such as the requirement of masks and the everyday use of hand sanitizer, but education during the pandemic has changed quite a bit. Schools have reopened, but not fully, which brings up some questions. How are some type of classes functioning online? How are teachers adjusting to working in the pandemic? What have the challenges been?
For Spring Quarter at Skagit Valley College, the PE classes are offered online. Susan Deschenes, a fitness coach here, is known to provide her students with online resources and will help them prepare a goal to strive for during the quarter. Deschenes gives great feedback on every quiz and fitness log, so her students know she is dedicated to making this online fitness program just as good as if it was in person. Every week there are new tips such as how many ounces of water a day you should be drinking and what exercises are best to achieve certain goals. Although it is very different to have this type of class online, it can be effective and students may like how it makes them feel more accountable with their health and fitness choices.
Catherine Baker, an elementary school teacher explains the differences between before and during the pandemic. “Before the pandemic, you saw the kids every day and the main challenge was maintaining a schedule. Now, the challenge is to maintain a schedule in the two hours you have with the kids.” Baker is an elementary school teacher ,who now only has the
students for a small amount of time. Instead of teaching in a time zone around six hours, she has to fit everything in two. With this limited amount of time, the leftover assignments and homework are being sent home. The hard part is having to rely on those students and their parents to stay on top of the assigned work. Before the pandemic, the work that was being sent home would have been done in class. There would have been more direction and time for questions. The worry that Baker has is that the kids are not getting nearly enough education as they should be. Along with education, they may not be socializing or getting outside enough which are important to a child’s education as well. This may be difficult at times, but making sure the child is not too overwhelmed, but getting the same amount of learning in is important.
Chrysta Brodt, a mother of two, also explained challenges she had since the beginning of the pandemic. Her daughter, Ally is a kindergartner this year and she has been attending school fully online. Ally has not been able to experience a classroom full of kids or meet her teacher without a screen between them. Her school day consists of waking up and attending her google class call where the teacher explains the assignments due that day. After being on that call, she gets to work on the six assignments assigned. These range from a video on Phonemic Awarenesses, the assigned pages in her math book, or a random question of the day. Brodt mentions the variety of assignments that are being assigned and appreciates the effort of the teachers. “My husband and I take turns sitting through the meetings, and walking Ally through the assignments, and I can’t help but feel so appreciative towards the people who are making this easy and fun for the kids.” Ally constantly talks about her teacher and looks forward to the one on one meetings that happen monthly. Brodt says that Ally has a little bit of a tough time sitting still and paying attention, but all of the fun brain breaks and videos help a lot with not getting her five year old too frustrated. There are many websites that the teachers sign the students up for to help with reading and math that are fun and easy to use.
School and education have been constant, and to see it change so much so quick, has to be startling. The switch to online learning has its bumps and difficulties, but the teachers and educators make it go so much smoother.
