Teaching through a pandemic
2020 has been a turbulent year for everyone, with the novel Coronavirus striking us early in the new decade. While everyone was scrambling to address the situation, one of the country’s largest institutions was forced into entirely new terrain. In late February, public schools across the country began to shut down to reduce the spread of Covid-19; in March, Ukiah High School followed suit. Given their resources, teachers and educators did a fantastic job keeping their students engaged and learning; however, transitioning an entire classroom to an online platform in days notice is no easy feat. Luckily, they would have a bit more time to plan and prepare for the next term.
While the district, health officials, and Ukiah High School worked together to form an action plan for this school year, teachers had a little more time to prepare for what would become inevitable: online learning. Fortunately, they have taken up the task with determination to leave no gap in our education, and from my point of view, done so very smoothly. For each class, meetings are held via Zoom or Google Meets every day. Students primarily go about their school days, as usual, just instead of entering physical classrooms, they participate online via video conferencing.
While each teacher has taken her or his own approach to learning, the uniformity of daily video classes has helped students maintain the structure that keeps them focused and learning.
“There has been positive reinforcement keeping me afloat,” says UHS senior Victor Galarza, adding that he feels that his “teachers have remained very organized and have a clear plan for us.” With teachers having their students’ best interests in mind, the school year has started off very positive for students and staff alike.
From the other perspective, teachers are hopeful and thankful for their students’ determination and integrity. As an educator, it can be challenging to keep students on task with no physical interaction, but students, like teachers, are working their hardest to stay on track. One Ukiah High teacher, Mrs. Upton, is pleased that her “students are doing their best,” as well as excited and “surprised at how engaged students are.”
While the curriculum this year is largely the same as it has been, the way it is delivered is vastly different this year. Most students still use textbooks as they usually would, and lectures are still given, if online, but teachers have had to modify a lot to make distance education work. Many are incorporating more digital presentations and online word processing than they have in the past, which can be helpful in the long run while it can be a bit of a learning curve. Society will inevitably be affected by Covid-19 in the long term, with many occupations going either partially or completely online. Luckily, students graduating from Ukiah High School will have a step up in the game as soon as they graduate as they are already gaining valuable experience with technology.