Content Artifacts

Reflective Essay 2

PART #1: Student Teaching Experience: 

When I first came to William H Maxwell, I didn’t know what to expect, but getting acquainted was a pretty smooth transition. But during the second half of my teaching experience, this world crisis happened and of course none of us expected this. I was out of the school site two weeks prior to everything boiling down. Returning for only a week, to be told that we should remain home for that following  Monday. Only teachers would be required to report to the school from Tuesday to Thursday for “training”. This was the craziest and most chaotic transition I’ve ever seen, no one knew how long to plan for, everyone was frustrated because there was a meeting with about twenty to twenty-five of us in one room, certain questions couldn’t be answered as of yet and the weight of worry hung over everyone’s shoulders. My trade is cosmetology and I am not the most tech savvy person but the platform(google classroom) seemed simple enough to figure out. When getting back into the groove of classes, the majority ruled that the students would follow their regular school schedule. The first week was extremely draining, there weren’t many students logging on and the communication between school and staff was a bit rocky as well. By the third week some of the kinks were ironed out and more kids were signing on. Some days started with a do now, other days we went straight into the lesson. My mentor and I would debrief after every class meeting and decided to keep the workload to a minimum. Whatever assignment that was to be given should be short enough for students to complete before our class time is up, but efficient so students are still learning. This has been the first time I felt so much pressure in my entire time in the program. But the journey continues and I believe that with all of the struggles and rough patches, I am becoming a stronger individual and teacher. I am doing my best to keep my head above water and not let my stress show when I am speaking or teaching.

PART #2: Educational Periodical: Has Your School Switched to Remote Learning? How Is It Going So Far?

Summary

This article puts to words what has happened, is continuing to happen and its effects. Addressing educators experiences during the crisis, problems faced and concerns for the students in their homes. As said in the article “no online learning platform can replace all the structure and vibrancy that is lost”. The social aspect is removed and a lot of students relied on school for free/affordable lunch, counseling, or after-school services. But beyond that some home environments are not the best, young children and students with special needs require help that may not be sufficient coming from hired care takers or parents who themselves are not trained.     There are experienced teachers who only come in contact with their computers when it’s time to check their email, so for them to have to switch into curriculum creations and lesson planning is a huge leap.  

Reaction to Article 

The cons outweigh the pros but through this there is less social distractions and the transition for individuals who were partially online before this may have been smoother. Hoping that after this is over, this serves as a wake up call for those who still live and operate in the stone/industrial age to start incorporating computer usage into their classrooms so that they are prepared. I understand this wasn’t expected but computers in education have been around forever. This shouldn’t have been something that sent a student or teacher into a panic. It is unfortunate that students have to experience such heartfelt situations but I hope there is a solution to all that is happening around us.  

Relation to my personal experience 

I feel for everyone that is experiencing hardship, losses, or any type of negative encounters because of what is going on. My mentor and I have been working hand-in-hand to assure that we support students in the best ways possible, providing any information that allows them to get the resources they need. But also meeting them where they are to provide the opportunity to rise up. Contacting parents of those who seem to fall off track, are frustrated or even disrespectful has been helping to keep us united. Confusing surely does bring about negativity, so having everyone one on the same page is top priority. But in relation to the thing presented in the article, we are having a hard time catering to two of our special needs students, one who has an active para but simply listens to no one and is continuously distracted and seeking attention. Not sure of the status with the other student, she produces work but her responses do not correlate with the task at hand. We haven’t been subdued by the lack or limited technical issues because the school was and still is on top of getting the students the tools they need; along with broadband companies servicing communities to do what they can. We have been planning as we go and taking on roles to help keep a high level of productivity, it is hard but I will finish strong.

Citations 

Gonchar, M and Doyne, s. (2020, March). New York Times. Has Your School Switched to Remote Learning? How Is It Going So Far?. Retrieved from:https://www.nytimes.com