On Thursday, March 12, Gov. Gary Herbert’s press conference on coronavirus quickly changed my classroom forever.
I streamed the governor’s press conference in my classroom during lunch for anybody in the school who wanted to watch it. There was a feeling of anxiety with each speaker explaining the spread of coronavirus, dangers, ways to help but, most of all, the expressions, or lack thereof, from the speakers are what stood out most to my students and me.
As the announcement was made that higher ed was being moved from in-person to online, I think we all knew it was a matter of time before K-12 was next. The next day, I stayed after school to get caught up on grading when Herbert and state Superintendent Sydnee Dickson announced the “soft closure” of all Utah schools for two weeks.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my new reality as a teacher.
I entered school on Monday to empty hallways. No sound, no energy, no students. For the next two weeks and likely beyond, this will be reality for the over 26,000 teachers and nearly 667,000 students.
On a Sunday walk with our two daughters, my wonderful wife noticed I seemed troubled and asked why. I tried my best to explain my fears of the unknown. Without realizing everything I was saying, I spilled out all of my concerns.
Will students have to check-in like we normally would in class or will asynchronous learning become the new norm? How will this affect teachers who lack the technology savvy or training to be as effective via online instruction as they are in-person? What about students without proper devices or meals, and students we assume know everything about technology but struggle as much with technology as some of their teachers?
First and foremost, my mind has been calmed with the knowledge students will be provided with meals and devices during the closure. Second, I will continue to build my classes online to reach all of my students and give them the content, assignments, and assessments for my class.
In the Davis School District, we have the luxury of using the learning management system called Canvas. I feel proficient enough with Canvas to get my content, assignments and assessments across to students with little to no interruption.
Two of my big concerns down, but there is one big one still looming.
The last part is the most important. This is what will make or break this great experiment of remote teaching. This is where I will have to shine: How do I keep my relationships alive with students?
I work hard each year to create a comfortable classroom environment for my students and foster relationships. But now that I won’t see them for at least two weeks (I’m preparing for up to eight weeks), how do I keep the energy there? How can I still be a resource for students? How can I let them know their teacher still loves them and will do everything I can to help them through this crisis?
Programs like Zoom, Flipgrid, and yes, I will even sign up for TikTok, will help my students see me. That is paramount. The reality for many students is they spend more waking hours with teachers than their parents. There will be distance and a screen between me and my students, but reaching my students via video or a podcast might be the difference between anxiety or depression and normalcy. No matter what I do for class, it has to be to help meet the social and emotional needs of my students in these times.
Using all this technology is the new reality. The soft closure during coronavirus is the catalyst for me, and thousands of other educators, to show Utah that teachers are indispensable because our relationships with students will meet both needs for content and emotional health.
I invite you to follow me as I do. I’ll share my thoughts, struggles, joys and everything in-between on Twitter using @Moves_Like_Judy. Hopefully we’ll hear from some students as well. Together, we can make it past this historic change of the classroom.
Scott Judy
Scott Judy is a social studies teacher at Viewmont High School in Davis School District and Utah Teacher Fellow working to engage students, parents, and community leaders in education policy. Follow him on Twitter @Moves_Like_Judy or continue the conversation by emailing him at sjudy@dsdmail.net
