I had planned to write this blog on tier two interventions. However, I believe many of us find ourselves thinking about our students and how to best teach them during this time. The main question that plagues me is: How can I maintain equity for all my students during this time?
It isn’t fair that there are unheard student voices out there who are scared, upset, angry, confused and some who can’t communicate. I know that teachers are in uncharted territory, but students are looking to us, their teachers, to establish normalcy. I have spent the better part of the school year getting to know and understand all of my students’ mathematical and social-emotional needs.
I learned through classroom meetings that my students had busy lives with many obligations outside of school. When we received the news that the 16th would be our last day together, my mind was flooded with thoughts.
A few days ago I surveyed my students. Their names have been changed for privacy.
How would Melanie handle her math when I know she is the oldest sibling and will likely be taxed with the extra responsibility of keeping her siblings in check.
“I’m kind of starting to like it less than I thought I would. My house is kinda crazy right now with my 6 siblings around all the time. I wish it was only 3 or 4 weeks. I have to help them with their school stuff and it’s hard.”
How will Brittany be successful in completing practice work when she has two families in one home?
“I’m doing bad because my cousins are annoying and don’t let me do anything.”
How will Brian do emotionally when he is an only child? “I feel awful. I miss all of my friends and teachers.”
I haven’t been able to communicate with 28 of my 108 students. I haven’t seen them complete any of the assigned online practice work. I have messages out to their parents, but still radio silence. All of my students had already successfully proven to be able to use Delta Math and Moby Max during the school year and completed work assigned through these platforms. However, where are these 28 students? How are they doing? Are they okay?
I will continue to reach out to these students in hopes of hearing from them. But what happens when we return to school and those who haven’t communicated discover the majority of their classmates have? What barriers are these students encountering? How can I best help them? Right now the only solution is to keep trying.
When it is safe to return to school how will teachers reintegrate? Will some teachers just start where they left off? Will other teachers decide to review until school is over for the year?
“If we go back to school I feel like people that don’t do work are gonna be so behind and the teachers are going to review everything while the people that did the work are just going to be there.”
Surveying the majority of my students has caused me to reflect on their needs. I am using the data to strategize with their other teachers. First, we have created a schedule where students will receive optional practice work from us once a week. For example, Monday is math, Tuesday is Science and so on.
My students expressed that they would like to continue classroom meetings with fun challenges that are tailored to their home life via Zoom. They expressed wanting routine and structure and were asking if their teachers could help.
A positive suggestion offered by many of my students is to hold a Zoom meeting twice a week. This would offer flexibility to students who can’t attend one of the sessions.
“I would think it would be a good idea for those who have questions and are stuck on something.”
“Well, I think this is a good idea because you never know some people might be busy. Having two days to check in is flexible for us.”
As teachers, we are always mindful to incorporate differentiated instruction for all of our students. During these times it is essential to ask for feedback from our students. Doing so will help us discover ways to integrate equality for all of our students. Keep an open mind and use this feedback to brainstorm with other educators on how to best reach all our students.
Please provide commentary on how you are reaching out to students. We can all learn from each other and grow.
This crisis is really highlighting inequities of opportunity in our systems–learning from home is hard for so many reasons.
But, we have to keep trying. It is not a success if 10 of your 25 kids join you for a Zoom meeting, even though I am sure that is fun, as some teachers have told me. Imagine the same scenario in a classroom–only 10 kids come to the carpet when you call them–not good.
Yes, keep trying and reach out to the other people in your school. I am an assistant principal. I have been calling many families and connecting with them in a variety of ways. Sometimes it just takes persistence. Utilize counselors, deans, paras, specialists… All these people are being paid. It can be their job to “find” these kids.
As I’ve been building lessons and packets and youtube playlists and recording readalouds, the question that keeps coming up in my mind is “how do I shift the cognitive load to my students?” Based on phone call contact the last two weeks, it looks like the district has managed to get internet access to each student on my short roster of kids (laptops, hotspots, etc.) so I feel a little more comfortable relying on tech more than I originally expected… but I am still assembling and sending copies of books and packets of materials to the kids I think might need a back-up plan other than tech.
BUT I’m doing a lot of work, and I have to keep reminding myself that the person doing the work is the person doing the learning… my challenge: how do I connect students with the right resources, the right questions, and the right meaningful tasks so that they shoulder the cognitive load? I haven’t found the best answer just yet.
Mark, you are doing an incredible job by differentiating your materials for all your students. I agree that shifting that cognitive load is very tricky. I would be interested in hearing about your progress in this developing area. Definitely something we could all learn to do better. I have begun to realize that some students are not doing well with extended learning on some of the platforms that I have been using. I have about three students hitting a brick wall. In speaking with them I am better able to address their needs better and tailor learning.
Each week I am modifying my program to include more variation specific to student needs. It is daunting and at times I feel I am doing more work now than during school.
So true. Equity is really something that we are working at in my district. Unfortunately, many of our families don’t have access to computers or WiFi, so it has been really difficult trying to get in touch with students. We’re working on getting these families devices but it’s a slow process.
It is so crazy that in the 21st century so many students live in an area that isn’t serviced by wifi or any type of internet capability. I totally understand this from a student perspective. Until two months ago I have always lived in rural parts of the United States. I did my teaching degree completely online off of satelite internet feed. Not exactly reliable and incredibly expensive. People often think, well kids have cell phones, let me tell you I never had cell phone coverage in my house. I always had to drive into the neighboring town to do any important work or attend online webinars. However, that isn’t even an option for students during quarantine. It was very frustrating at the least and I’m a grown adult. It is terrible thinking how these students must currenlty feel truly isolated and powerless.
Thank you for sharing and doing all that you can for these students. You are fantastic!
It seems like your approach is exactly what the state is seeking…for all teachers/schools to serve the unique needs of their students. What a wildly huge job we have ahead of us! The more feedback we. can get along the way, the better off we all will be. Thanks for the great ideas!
Gretchen
Maria,
Thank you! I was hoping that my story and struggles would help others understand that it’s a struggle not just for educators, but for students too.
You are to be commended for reaching out to each of your 108 students and getting feedback on how they are doing! These are trying times and it is refreshing to know teachers are looking out for their students, and finding solutions to help them succeed.
Laura,
I wanted everyone who reads this to see as teachers we are all trying to contact our students. Our students’ well-being is as important to us as their studies. Thank you for your comment.
Swan,
This is a beautiful reflection of our students reality. My takeaway is “keep trying”.
Thank you for your inspiring work!