Teaching High School in 2020
Tags: Pandemic, 2020, Teachers, High School, Education

This is what every students looks like on camera during virtual learning because they can do it from their beds.

I’m a high school U.S. History teacher and It’s been different this year. The pandemic has all but made connection and classroom engagement virtually impossible, pun intended.

The shift started back in March when they sent everyone home and almost immediately we fell into remote learning. Due to the fact that it was all new to everyone involved. Most just went home and were able to treat it like some extended vacation. Teachers posted the work online, the students who wanted to do it would do it. Those who didn’t want to wouldn’t. Administration would remind us how delicate a time this was and to be mindful of how much work was actually being given. To be frank, it became a time for everyone to stop giving a shit about school and their jobs and focus on their immediate health and how to remain healthy.

This went on from March to June. All statewide testing was canceled and everyone transition to what some could call one of the weirder summers we’ve ever had. We were traveling less, staying indoors more. Those outdoors activities, the concerts, the brunches, all the things that brought us together were going on less and less. We were all being forced to live in our homes, with our social media and our news with no real outlet in sight.

I think about what it must’ve been like as a teenager being cooped up in the house all summer. Not being able to see your friends, have get togethers, etc. We can have discussions abut what teens do and don’t do when they get together. But, that’s neither here nor there. We remember what it was like as kids just to get together with friends and have a good time. It was a good for our souls, it made us feel connected to others.

In 2020, we have documentaries educating us on dangers of social media. They detail not only how we are being influenced by social media. But also how the internet has made the world that much smaller creating the illusion that we’re all more connected now than ever. However, studies show that the rate of depression, anxiety and other mental health issues are steadily rising amongst teens since the 2011, which would have been the rise of the social media age with Instagram leading the charge.

So, in an already disconnected world. We were forced to lock ourselves away from others for months throughout the summer. It’s far too early to understand the long term impact of what this pandemic is doing to our youth. But, one thing for sure, they will be a case study in years to come. We will look back on this group of high schoolers and study how school changed for them. How learning changed for them. What the impact of walking around in a mask all day can do to a young person’s psyche during some of the most challenging years of their lives.

These are factors that are harder to grapple with in the moment in which they are happening. Many of us are just trying to keep our jobs in the midst of a pandemic. But, as a teacher, trying to hold students accountable in a system that almost handcuffs you in every way is already difficult. Once you combine that lack accountability with distance learning. We’ve all but taken away any form responsibility that would normally be on the students. Every situation is different and because you can’t identify each, you have to be sensitive to all.

It’s hard to know the answers as to how to approach this as an educator. On one hand, I want to hold my students accountable for the little bit of work that is assigned. On the other hand I’m conscious of the barrier that the screen creates in trying to create connections with your students that they can feel your genuine care and concern for them. That many that would normally do the work if in front of you, a large portion of that group has decided, “If no one is going to make me do it. I’m not going to do it.” Sometimes making a student do work is literally just sitting 6 feet from them or being able to walk around a room and that is now lost.

I think about the straight A student who genuinely enjoys the learning process and school. I’m sure they have their reasons and many of which stem from the fact that they’re good at school and they validate themselves based on the grades they earn. So because school comes easy to them, they get A’s and that’s as a high a grade as you can get so they feel good about their accomplishments. Well, the learning process isn’t what it was before. Now the work is assigned, it’s completed and they get a grade. There are many students who are hating this watered down version of education and perhaps realizing the grade isn’t all they cared about after all.

Then you have your students who are learning at home virtually who need a variety of accommodations and resources which they cannot get because they’re not in school. Trying to teach and get some students with 504 plans do get anything done is a daunting task in itself. There’s no way to hold these students accountable and while not all of them take advantage of their accommodations. Many students will and are quick to remind you of every accommodation they have. They can’t remember the definition to a vocabulary word. But they can repeat a list of things you need to do for them to help make their receiving an education easier.

I don’t say that to throw shade at the students. I say it to point out the realities of teaching high school in 2020. I love my job. I love teaching our youth. But what I love most about it is creating the relationships and connections with students to help them tap into and reach their potential as young people. After 4 months of trying to do that through a computer screen, I’m exhausted. I’ve seen more F’s this year than any in my teaching career. It’s like many of them have stopped trying and it’s almost hard to blame them. I can almost see the look in their faces or feel the energy through the screen. This look of, “You’re talking to me about vocab? My dad lost his job last week because of this pandemic. Fuck life.” AND YOU KNOW WHAT, I GET IT!

I’ve had students tell me that they’re at Target running errands for their mom but using their phone to log into the conference so they can get credit for attendance. So the parent cares enough to make their kid be present or the student cares enough. But no one cares enough to ensure they’re in an environment to receive the education they’re supposed to be getting. Students who are going back and forth to help their young siblings with their virtual learning because they’re home with them. It’s not fair to them that this is some of their realities. Sure, life isn’t fair either. But, sometimes it is. Right now, these kids are being dealt a shitty hand that’s almost impossible to play and we’re asking them to somehow stay afloat and in some cases, still win the game.

I don’t know how my approach will change. I don’t know if I’ll have some grand lightbulb moment. But I do know that I’m trying everyday to figure some shit out as to how to reach my students. All of them. From the ones who don’t speak English to those who have 5.0 GPAs and want to go to prestigious college institutions.

But, I’ll be damned if this hasn’t been the hardest year of my teaching career.

Connection matters, relationships matter and they have shown just how important they are from teacher to student throughout this pandemic.