Hard work is not unique to high school teachers or college professors; both are working overtime to provide students with lessons and support.
“My typical day starts about 5:30 a.m. I go upstairs to work around 8:30 a.m., work until noon, help with lunch and nap time, work from 2 to 4:30 p.m., then help with dinner through bedtime and work again from 8 to 11 p.m.,” said Brian Anderson, Associate Professor of chemistry at Keene State College.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers had to transition to remote education, teaching their students through different online mediums. Many high school teachers and college professors have said this change has led to them working more. They have responsibilities at home, work responsibilities, and they also have to figure out how to adapt to the new normal.
Anderson said he made a makeshift office where he can hold his Zoom classes, but he also has to balance his home life. He has a toddler at home, so he and his wife take child care shifts.
“I have no free time. My day is teaching and preparing lessons, communicating with people on campus, while also helping to take care of our toddler,” said Anderson.
Likewise, a science teacher at Lawrence High School in Fairfield, Maine said he knew normalcy was over when he had to clean out his classroom. Eric Brown has been teaching at the school for 26 years, but is now on Remind text and email, a program for online instruction, for the majority of his day.
“I am working every night from 7 to 11 p.m. on grading and planning. Plus, I am answering questions throughout the day on my Remind program. To be honest, it’s pretty stressful and exhausting,” said Brown.
Brown also questioned the effectiveness remote learning will have. He asked if teachers will be able to actually engage students. He said he has already struggled to even speak with some students, so he worries about maintaining relationships.
“Some students communicate with me everyday and some are not communicating with me much at all. Relationships elevate all learning,” said Brown.
Anderson also expressed concern for recreating his classroom environment. Specifically, he questioned how to recreate a laboratory experience for students.
“We have come at this from a variety of ways, including making videos of experiments to show students, supplying sample data so students can do the analysis, and I have even spent lab time focused on writing lab reports and talking about writing resumes and applying for jobs,” said Anderson.
William Stroup, a professor in the English department at the college, said that faculty’s “ethical obligations and pride” in their work will kick in and they will sacrifice time and energy to help students. He said the biggest issue, though, is recreating the on-campus learning experience.
“We need archives. We need real books in our hands. We need the stages of the Redfern full of dancing, acting, music-making students and faculty and visiting writers meeting our brilliant English majors,” said Stroup.
Teachers and professors alike agree that in-person learning will always have its benefits and they all cannot wait to return to normal life and school.
“Let’s value what we have, honor it and keep the space for it all to come back with greater focus and appreciation than before,” said Stroup.
Kiana Joler can be contacted at
kjoler@kscequinox.com
