"It has been truly challenging and not at all normal."
By Alisha Sawhney Staff Editor, Opinion |
On a dreary evening this spring, I was scrolling through pre-Covid photos on my phone. One from September 2019 — the start of that school year — popped up: my mom in her sixth grade classroom in front of a freshly decorated wall with laminate cutouts of "hola," "bonjour" and "konnichiwa." I remember stopping by that morning. The place was abuzz with back-to-school energy. |
I don't need to describe what happened the following year. In the early days of the pandemic, my mom talked about how difficult and dispiriting her job was. And I heard from friends of mine, also teachers, who described the chaos of trying to teach kids online. "How am I supposed to teach 80 fourth graders on a screen? I'm drowning," my friend Jasmine said in a 6-minute voice note riddled with expletives. |
It struck me that the teachers who had to navigate this moment in education could offer lessons to those who may have to teach during future lockdowns, or at least offer a note of solidarity. So, with the 2021-22 school year winding down, Times Opinion reached out to teachers to ask about their experiences over the past two years: the challenges, the successes, the impact on their students and what advice, if any, they could offer their peers. As Kora Wilson, a math teacher at a public school in Brooklyn, told us, "It's more important than ever for students to feel connected — to one another, to their teachers and to their school community. Look for opportunities to foster that connection." |
The responses revealed a profession in crisis. Of the more than 1,600 teachers from across the U.S. who responded, an overwhelming amount said they did not — and do not — feel heard or supported at work. Teachers were already feeling burnout, but it took a pandemic to push some of the most dedicated to say "no more." Many of the teachers who responded to our questions said they were done and planned to retire. |
Others said that the lasting effects of the pandemic on their students was more than they could handle without more support. "Much like the Great Resignation for adults, we are seeing kids pull away from school," Rebecca Ritenour, an English teacher at a public high school in Champion, Pa., told us. "They may or may not physically be there. Many aren't willing to engage, even when teachers are being as innovative as they know how to be. That's going to be very difficult to overcome." |
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