Teachers should teach, virus or no virus
Educators can still check in,
Over the March break, we were happy to receive an email from the principal of a public elementary school describing efforts to ensure learning continues through the current crisis. The email shared online office hours for staff, as well as plans for online teaching and a loaner laptop distribution program starting right after break. This message didn’t come from our kids’ school in Ottawa. It came from their previous public school, out of province.
The message we got from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and Ontario’s minister of education was very different. It shared links to websites such as TVO Kids, “designed to help students learn at home, independently, or with the help of a parent or guardian.” Nothing about teachers teaching or facilitating real dialogue between teachers and students.
This is not good enough. What should parents and students expect and demand?
Public educators are not on vacation. If school staff are being paid to work full-time, they should do so, working from home like so many others. Teachers should be in direct contact with individual students. If email doesn’t work, they should phone (and perhaps they should phone anyway).
Teachers should provide synchronous teaching (realtime, interactive, online classrooms) through Zoom or other e-platforms, prepare assignments, grade, and offer prompt and constructive feedback. Periodic emails are necessary but not sufficient.
Principals should be holding online meetings with parents and students, supporting teachers, and responding to parent and student concerns.
Time and resources should be allocated to connecting with students with special needs and others challenged by personal circumstances, including lack of computer access.
The Ministry of Education and school boards should work to support the delivery of synchronous instruction and excellent curricula.
They should research best practices piloted elsewhere during the crisis (there are many, and Ontario has fallen behind), and provide leadership to deliver support and direction.
Teachers’ unions should acknowledge that teachers may need to do more than has been specified in past agreements during this oncein-a-century crisis.
There are countless other actions our public school system can take to support children and families. It’s the job of the Ministry of Education, school boards and unions to work together to deliver, and it’s the job of the public (especially parents) to hold everyone accountable.
If you thought the divide between public and private education was big before, it’s a canyon now. We know private-school teachers who are paid less than their public counterparts, but expected to do more. We know Ottawa private schools that have already shared plans for synchronous learning with their students and parents.
As professors and parents who have taught in traditional and online classrooms in Canada, the United States and Europe, we have spoken with educators around the world, at all levels. Many are urgently training for online learning. Public school elementary teachers in Hungary (earning about $1,000 a month) were told by their government that if they’re not teaching, they’re not getting paid. Now public schools in Budapest are delivering and grading multiple assignments daily, and connecting with students individually, despite tech limitations. At OCDSB, where our child’s elementary teacher earns more than $100,000 a year (per the Sunshine List), there seems to be no plan to get teachers actually teaching.
Teaching effectively online will require educators to adopt the same growth mindsets that they encourage in their students. It will be challenging. Online education, done well, demands great teaching from dedicated teachers. Many teachers are keen to get started, but they need leadership and an enabling environment. Our children and their families deserve no less, virus or no virus.