Items

• 
  2020-12-18

  I have a bad felling about this

  My experience of 2020 has been a little different it all started when me and my friend were hanging out then his mom told us that we won't be going to school for two weeks we were excited but we did not know what we were saying because we did not go back to school for almost like 5 months that resulted to E learning
• 2020-04

  The Pain of Teaching at Home

  This is story like many others during this time. The work of a parent with kids sent home for e-learning. Though I had a background in education, having an M.A. in Education, this was a task that was a difficult one that my education and years of teaching could not help me. The first task is explaining to younger children why they have to stay home. Especially when we as adults are unable to truly grasp what is going on. The second part is trying to motivate students to learn when the school was not ready for this type of teaching. Though the teachers tried, the manner of teaching was a difficult one that led great stress during this time. To add to it, the consistency and norm for the children was shattered which required me to try to recreate that same standard, yet another difficult task. Added onto that, is a child that struggles with reading, which most of the assignments were backed by, instead of the lecture they were used to. The first step was trying to set the norm for them. Breakfast, work, break, work, lunch, work, done. Though it sounds simple, with two separate students with different educational abilities, and drive for success, keeping one on task while the other was done or finishing faster was a task. Aiding them was truly difficult. Some of the difficulties came from my teaching experience being middle and high school not elementary. The next being understanding some of the finer points of the material being taught, I found myself having to learn the material to then teach the material to my children. To compound it further, there is the social aspect of being stuck at home with out the interaction they needed for their peers. Though I fancy myself a “cool” dad, I will never measure up to my kids’ friends. Attempting to fill this void was significantly more difficult than being their teacher. Though my kids did not have near the growth they would have received academically while being in school, they did not lose intelligence and picked up some knowledge along the way. Though it took tears, patience, drive and resilience, it was a time that we can all reflect on and hope it never happens again, which it did, 5 months later, but everyone was better prepared and the lessons learned from the springs allowed for greater success on the second go. Here is to hoping it doesn’t happen again!!!
• 
  05/21/2020

  Educator Zoom Meetings

  Educators are prohibited from entering schools in much of California. Distance meetings are numerous. Today, Teacher Dana Bell meets with educators at Sem Yeto continuation high-school are meeting to plan for next years WASC visit, a task that can not wait till school resumes. Working from home is a challenge many educators are facing. This meeting was disrupted several times by the participants children and pets. In this particular image, the isolation educators are experiencing is particularly felt. A contrast from the normal hustle of the classroom.
• 
  04/05/2020

  Goodbye, Spring 2020

  By order of the governor, all Kansas K-12 schools closed for the remainder of the academic year to curb COVID-19's spread, making online classes a necessity and rendering normal spring-time activities, such as sports and commencements, an impossibility. This makeshift message on Wichita Northwest's campus expresses an all-too familiar sentiment that can be felt all across the country, from the East and West Coasts and in the nation's Heartland.