Teachers adapting to COVID changes
Carey Buss never envisioned his first day teaching would be spent online during a worldwide pandemic. But he, along with many other teachers, quickly adapted and constructed plans to connect with students from home.
“Because I wasn’t able to meet the students here it was very difficult to get a gauge of how to go about giving instructions … I wasn’t sure where they were at,” Buss said while sitting on a stool inside his classroom at Acadia Junior High School on Friday, June 5. “Thankfully the last two weeks of my practicum I was able to get some practice with online teaching.”
Buss was finally able to meet some of his students in person for the first time last week as schools across Manitoba opened for limited use.
“For me … it’s been a chance to put the first step forward towards a positive relationship,” the Grades 7 and 8 French teacher said. “You need to have a really positive relationship with your students or else they’re just going to shut down and not take part.”
Last week, teachers across Manitoba started adjusting to some big changes and new procedures as schools began reopening across the province. Some of the new protocols in place include being asked a series of COVID-19 related questions upon arrival, using a sign in sheet located outside the office as well as being provided with hand sanitizer or a place to wash your hands.
Some teachers are meeting their students at the doors to lead them to their classrooms and arrows have been posted in the hallways to allow for safe social distancing. Desks and chairs are also being sanitized after each use.
Amanda Huang, a Grades 1 to 3 teacher at École Robert H. Smith School, says she admits she had mixed feelings about returning to school last week.
“I was a little bit nervous because I wasn’t sure about the protocols and if things would be set up,” Huang said. “But at the same time I was excited to see my colleagues again and to be able to have a conversation in person instead of on video.”
Huang has been spending her mornings continuing online learning with her students. In the afternoons, she has been inviting her students in groups of two or five back into the classroom. She says her classroom looks very different from what it once was. Desks are now placed approximately two metres apart and each student has their own individual Ziploc bag of school supplies.
“I’m worried we have to go traditional,” she said, adding she used to allow flexible seating arrangements in her classroom. “Some of those good practices don’t match with our reality right now.”
Teaching while keeping social distancing in mind has also been a challenge, she said.
“I can’t really get close to have a private conversation … so I need to think of another way to give feedback but still protect their feelings,” she said. “These are the kinds of things I have to think about.”
Sara Tham, a Grade 2 French immersion teacher at École Robert H. Smith School, said she also had mixed feelings about returning.
“I just wanted to make sure that I was coming back and prepared to follow all of the procedures to keep everyone safe,” Tham said.
Tham says she plans on spending this time reconnecting with her students.
“To make sure that they’re doing well,” she said. “It’s really important at a time of such crazy changes that the students feel cared for and that they have questions answered, that their feelings are validated and that’s really my goal.”
But despite all of the changes, she says teachers are trained to quickly learn how to adapt.
“I think we can be successful and we can adapt … because we’re constantly adapting to the needs of the classroom and making sure that we’re providing appropriate programming,” she said. “It will take some time and creative thinking.”
Buss says he commends the province for the work they have been doing to ensure students and staff can feel safe about returning to school.
“As a result I feel pretty comfortable about the prospective idea about bringing the kids back in the fall,” he said. “As a teacher, this is what I like to do, I like to teach actual students when they’re all here.”