A very good friend and I were chatting tonight about how frustrating it was for me to read that our Chief Medical Officer stated in an interview that "students and parents should prepare for the possibility of online learning for the rest of the school year."
I don't have a problem with this idea, and I fully support the current restrictions in place to keep our communities safe. My frustration stems from the fact that this is how I am finding out that I might be teaching online for the next 7 weeks.
Here are some thoughts that came up when my friend asked the question, "If you were consulted, what would you want to say?"
- Knowledge is empowering. The fact is, I will have to say to my students tomorrow, "I don't know if we will be back to in-person classes before the end of the school year, I'm waiting to hear about that." This lack of knowledge is disempowering, as it throws us into a state of uncertainty, and makes us look like we are hiding something.
- Students will stay engaged if we give them the tools and supports to do so. Las spring, we kept pushing the "back to buildings" date in increments of two weeks, in an effort to maintain engagement with students. Students will be engaged if we provide them with meaningful learning opportunities, chances to connect, and trust that they will do what they can while dealing with the trauma of an ongoing pandemic.
- We have an opportunity to think about how our school system can be more than just "in the classroom", and encourage ways of learning that go beyond trying to replicate online what we do in person (and honouring multiple ways of learning is a separate post for another time!)
- I want the chance to plan something long term for online learning, rather than lurching from week to week with uncertainty about how long we will be online. Only giving us a week or two at a time means we are often in a holding pattern, only preparing things that last a few days rather than engaging in more meaningful long-term planning.
I teach in a specific context, with a specific set of skills and interests, with a specific group of students. The above ideas/thoughts/feelings will not apply to every teacher. EVERY teacher deserves to be informed about what is being planned for education in the coming weeks.
I have been waiting for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in Nova Scotia to communicate with the 9000+ teachers in the province, so that we can get down to making plans that are in the best interests of our students. We shouldn't be getting updates about our status on Twitter.
