Thread: I need to work through some of my thinking on the looming announcement of what reopening of school sites will look like in BC. I say all of this with a true curiosity, wonder, and worry as I work through the nuances of this issue in my head. /1
This 100% comes from my lens as a public F2F teacher. /2
This crisis is shedding light on the fact that our economy substantially depends on the educational profession first and foremost as childcare. We can’t truly open our economy back up if the kids are not in school. /3
I do acknowledge that, in normal times, it’s not as simple as that. We got double… heck, even triple… bang for our buck by having the kids in school: kids get an education AND they are in care simultaneously, AND we get to move the economy along/make money. /4
Regardless, the common message *in this moment* is that schools are essentially childcare. There’s often no mention of the educational aspect that our F2F time with students would offer; yet another depreciative insult to the teaching profession. /5
This comes on the heels of probably the most stressful 6 weeks of my teaching career. Where we’ve collectively, as a profession, faced the question of how far we should push for quality learning... or not… /6
Where we’re damned if we do (how dare you not be compassionate!) and damned if we don’t (how are you preparing my child for ___?!) /7
Frankly, I’m pretty sick of this prevalent public narrative. It hurts to be a teacher right now. A chunk of the public is claiming we’re doing nothing while the truth is that most of us are working harder than ever before to connect our communities and make learning meaningful /8
I’m in a constant state questioning of my philosophies. As one of my colleagues mentioned to me this week, is our role to provide opportunities for continuity of learning? Or is our goal to ensure engagement with said opportunities for families who are able? /9
These questions keep coming with no answer. /10
So, now let’s dig into the issue of moving away from the remote learning we’ve worked so hard to figure out (…averts gaze from THAT can of worms…). We know there is an announcement coming soon that will push us into a blended model of some kind. /11
F2F teachers now know for a fact that remote learning is incredibly challenging and the rules of F2F practice scarcely apply. And, as many of our DL colleagues have mentioned, blended learning ALSO has its own set of rules for best practices. /12
As much as practice is an issue in and of itself, we know that this is about more than best practices. We need to acknowledge the intense added layer complexities that come with kids and educators being present together in schools in a pandemic era. /13
We know that several families are going to refuse to send their children. It’s almost a certainty that we’re going to be asked to sustain remote learning opportunities while we show up to work in classrooms for those who do come to school. /14
We also know we’re not just going to be offering childcare services for those F2F. /15
So, the solution? Oh, just plan to support the remote learning tasks while you’re face-to-face. You don’t need to teach two programs! /16
Where do those remote learning opportunities come from though? They don’t just materialize out of thin air and it’s certainly not a mere curation of links. /17
These opportunities take an immense amount of time and deliberate thought to prepare, tailored by teachers to fit with what works for their students and families. /18
Our current daytimes during remote learning are spent designing and preparing those learning opportunities, collaborating with colleagues, communicating with families, providing formative feedback on student work, ensuring technical issues are sorted out. I could go on… /19
So just teach the same program? …Umm… no. ICYMI, the thesis of this part of my thinking is this: a reduced and/or rotating F2F schedule means that teachers lose the time they need in order to do the work of building and sustaining a robust remote learning program. Period. /20
For me personally, it means that I likely won’t be able to collaborate as closely with my Grade 7 colleague for support because again, we likely won’t have the time. /21
Now, let’s factor in teachers’ own personal situations. Personally, I’m out of childcare at the moment. I have *several* colleagues who are either immunocompromised themselves or have an immediate family member who is. What then? HR depts will have a ton of work to do here. /22
I’m not going to go into the several other “what ifs” that come with the structure of blending (I.e. number of kids in a room, PPE, custodial staff cleaning between groupings) because they’re above my pay grade and frankly, out of my control. /23
What I do know and understand well is this: the teacher lens alone is incredibly complex. Our profession deserves respect and a voice in what is to come for us. I’m truly scared of the damage this will inflict on teachers, and as a result, their learning communities. /end
