The Reporter
Current Newsletter October/November 2020
Current Newsletter October/November 2020
Newsletter Highlights
President’s Message
President’s Message
Reach out...help a teacher We’ve all been there: you gather your computer, books, curriculum documents, planner; you have an idea on how to map out your lesson; and two hours later you are done. Unfortunately this is not the case right now. Two hours of your time are only enough to plan for one subject; you still need to plan the rest of the week for the rest of the content areas you’re teaching.
Because of COVID-19, teachers’ working schedules have increased exponentially. Planning for their remote and in-person students doesn’t only include thinking of the pedagogy behind the lesson; nowadays it also involves keeping kids engaged in front of a screen for several hours a day. In addition, teachers need to make themselves available to their remote students via online meets: on several occasions to address specific how-to questions, other meetings for content, and also time to meet with parents.
Teachers are hardcore overachievers; they will always go above and beyond to meet the needs of their students. However, is this rhythm sustainable? How long can they keep doing this? According to Courtney Tanner from The Salt Lake Tribune (September 25, 2020), principals are saying that teachers are crying and having panic attacks under COVID-19 workload.
An article on The Conversation website (https://theconversation.com), published on August 3, mentions the impact on the mental and physical health of teachers in addition to the technical, pragmatic and workload issues. The article, “Exhausted beyond measure: what teachers are saying about COVID-19 and the disruption to education,” quotes some of the teachers’ statements:
* One teacher told us: I struggle at night for thinking about work all the time, anxious my physical health has been impacted.
* Another said: It has challenged everything I enjoy about teaching.
* And another wrote: All the teachers I work with are EXHAUSTED beyond measure. So, what’s my message, you may be asking?
Reach out to teachers! Offer your knowledge, experience, but most importantly, offer your time and support— they need it! Reach out, ask how you can help, what support they need; this action can go a long way. I understand you can’t plan their lessons, but you can for sure run copies, grade activities, provide feedback on turned-in assignments, record videos for them, offer to take care of their dinner, remember they still need to go home and take care of their family. They will appreciate these efforts way more than you may think. Let them know they are appreciated and that you will support them in any way you can. We are all in this together; let’s lend a helping hand.
—Hilda Diaz
Because of COVID-19, teachers’ working schedules have increased exponentially. Planning for their remote and in-person students doesn’t only include thinking of the pedagogy behind the lesson; nowadays it also involves keeping kids engaged in front of a screen for several hours a day. In addition, teachers need to make themselves available to their remote students via online meets: on several occasions to address specific how-to questions, other meetings for content, and also time to meet with parents.
Teachers are hardcore overachievers; they will always go above and beyond to meet the needs of their students. However, is this rhythm sustainable? How long can they keep doing this? According to Courtney Tanner from The Salt Lake Tribune (September 25, 2020), principals are saying that teachers are crying and having panic attacks under COVID-19 workload.
An article on The Conversation website (https://theconversation.com), published on August 3, mentions the impact on the mental and physical health of teachers in addition to the technical, pragmatic and workload issues. The article, “Exhausted beyond measure: what teachers are saying about COVID-19 and the disruption to education,” quotes some of the teachers’ statements:
* One teacher told us: I struggle at night for thinking about work all the time, anxious my physical health has been impacted.
* Another said: It has challenged everything I enjoy about teaching.
* And another wrote: All the teachers I work with are EXHAUSTED beyond measure. So, what’s my message, you may be asking?
Reach out to teachers! Offer your knowledge, experience, but most importantly, offer your time and support— they need it! Reach out, ask how you can help, what support they need; this action can go a long way. I understand you can’t plan their lessons, but you can for sure run copies, grade activities, provide feedback on turned-in assignments, record videos for them, offer to take care of their dinner, remember they still need to go home and take care of their family. They will appreciate these efforts way more than you may think. Let them know they are appreciated and that you will support them in any way you can. We are all in this together; let’s lend a helping hand.
—Hilda Diaz
Epsilon Kappa Chapter 130
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webmaster: Kathy Mihalik
Updated: October 2020