Mike Parker: Staring into the Coronavirus ‘rabbit hole’ - Parents and teachers share concerns

Since my column last week, I have spoken to parents, teachers, and administrative staff from no less than five school systems regarding their concerns for the coming reopening of schools in August. Please keep in mind that opening day – August 17 – is less than a month away. These parents, teachers, and administrators were plain spoken to the point of being blunt.

“Parental anxiety from knowing classes for Plan C are completely online is high,” said one mother of a rising first-grader and third-grader. “Parents understand they will have to try to teach kids who see them as mom and/or dad, and the kids will likely not show parents the same respectful behavior as they would show to their actual teacher.

“I have no training in teaching,” she added. “If I can’t help them, I will fail. In turn, my kids may fail. On the other hand, at least to this parent, the lives and health of my children, as well as their potential for becoming carriers who may place the lives of others in danger, is not an acceptable trade-off for them being behind in school or me keeping my sanity.

“I think about this All. The. Time.”

Another mom, a high school teacher with an elementary student and a middle school student, shared her concerns.

“What happens if I get sick?” she asked. Her concern is focused on the potential for one or more students in her classroom bringing the virus to school and exposing her and the other students. “As these students move through the school day, they will expose people in every class they attend.”

Getting substitutes is not always easy, she pointed out.

“How much more difficult will it be to get substitute teachers when many of those who now sub are retired and are in the most vulnerable group to this virus? What happens if one of my girls gets sick and I need to stay with her? Where can I turn to get someone to stay with them, knowing I could be exposing these caregivers to the virus or some other illness?”

Another teacher explained the demands on teachers as they try to meet the pressures of lesson preparation in the age of multiple delivery settings.

“I will have to prepare lesson plans for the students who are in class – and prepare lesson plans and materials for those same students when they are scheduled to be working at home. Then I will have to prepare plans for students who will be doing their work online. Then I will need a set of plans with modifications for students I teach with 504 plans and Individual Education Plans.”

“There are so many variables, my anxiety is peaking and I can’t do anything but try to forget everything and just wait to see what happens,” said an administrative support educator. “As support staff, I also don’t really know what those roles will be. Remote and online learning in my county are not good options due to lack of infrastructure and internet options. None of us really knows what or how to plan at this point. We don’t even have a schedule.”

“We have had zero training in online instruction,” said another teacher. “I worry that parents will decide to quit remote learning and have their kids go back to school. Every time that happens, I’m going to have to back up and reteach based on how much the former ‘remote learners’ understood. Also, will the ‘remote’ kids be able to come back just whenever? And will a ‘face-to-face’ student be able to just go remote whenever they choose?”

One mother of two elementary children, whose husband was a middle school athletic director, expressed another area of concern.

“I will add this point: ‘no sports’ equals ‘no motivation’ for some students.  Coaches often serve as mentors and honorary dads. Sports often serve as an area in which less academically gifted children can excel. These decisions are heartbreaking. One road prioritizes mental health, the other physical health. No matter what decision we make, it seems to be wrong.”

Another administrator shared the approach his system is using to help equalize instruction for middle-schoolers.

“Several teachers from our middle school are planning on recording and then video streaming their instruction. Students who do not have internet or only limited internet access will get a flash drive with the lessons and the videos that go along with the lessons. This approach should help reduce the extra planning and prevent double effort for creating work for students. This approach will also help provide consistency, whether the student is receiving face-to-face instruction or remote learning.

“As a parent, I felt that my child did better and was more engaged last year when his teacher provided a video to help support instruction versus another teacher who didn’t provide a video to support remote learning.  As a school system, we are all following the same online format. Having one online platform will create a uniform approach for families.”

The issues these parents and educators raise are real. Parents and teachers must work together to overcome the problems and to ensure that students are getting a genuine educational experience that prepares them to advance in their studies.

Right now, most of us are like Alice of Wonderland fame. We are tumbling down the rabbit hole with no idea where we are going or how we are going to get out.

Mike Parker is a columnist for Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.