Mask wearing and distancing protocols have taken the United States by storm since the hit of COVID-19 and has changed the teachers work with the classroom.
Madeline R. Rinkacs, a senior at Stonehill College in Easton, a third-grade student teacher at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Holbrook, said the COVID-19 pandemic has changed her class configuration for face to face teaching.
The desks are separated six feet apart. Students have snack time outside. Lunch is in the gymnasium, where students eat alone at a desk, six feet apart.
“By the time we have all the children set up with their masks off for lunch, the teachers and I have about eight minutes to eat our lunches.” said Rinkacs.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker recently passed an order to allow a 170 day school year, rather than the typical 180-day schedule. These ten days were used for professional development by school staff and administration.
“These ten days were so beneficial for the other teachers and me because we were able to plan and figure out how we could effectively teach these kids, in a time where the unknown is now common.” said Rinkacs.
“We learned everything from trauma to mental health struggles of children, along with additional information on health and pandemic related issues, and most importantly, we learned how to deal with these struggles.” said Rinkacs.
Children had the option to learn remotely through a homeschooling program, or attend school in person, said Rinkacs.
“The kids that decided to attend school in person were separated into three different cohorts, labeled A, B and C.” said Rinkacs.
The in-person option for cohorts A and B allowed children to attend school two days a week in person, and three days virtually, using Google Classroom and Zoom.
Cohort A attends school on Mondays and Thursdays, whereas Cohort B attends on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The only students that are allowed to attend school in person full time are those with a parent who works for the Holbrook school system or children that have an IEP or 504 Plan where they need additional support. This group is Cohort C.
Rinkacs said she and her teacher repeat lessons twice a week and plan for the lessons on the opposite virtual days. In total, Rinkacs said she and her teacher create nine lesson plans for the week, compared to the usual five.
Rinkacs also said she has received immense support from the administration in Holbrook.
“The principals, teachers, and staff I have spoken with have all told me the same thing: ‘If you are successful in this environment, you can do anything.’”
“Student teaching in a pandemic was nothing I expected; it wasn’t what my past three years at Stonehill prepared me for either. I had to figure out many things on my own, and I have now learned to adapt to change more easily, something that was once a weakness of mine.” said Rinkacs.
The pandemic has changed the attitude of both students and teachers, said Rinkacs. For teachers, the days contain more stress.
“They are learning themselves about these new protocols and technological configurations, while trying to teach kids the same thing, it’s difficult.” she said.
In a writing prompt during class, Rinkacs and her teacher asked students what they thought of school during this time.
So many kids wanted to be in school all five days, she said she was shocked by how vocal the students were about their needs.
“Some students may not have a stable environment at home, for some, a school is a place for escape, safety, and comfort.” said Rinkacs
“I have one student who is truly the happiest kid in class and is grateful to be in school. He has an older and younger sibling that both have special needs and are also having to attend the hybrid school format,” said Rinkacs.
“While online, he says that he mostly has to figure out the remote class by himself and doesn’t receive as much help and attention at home than he does while being at school,” said Rinkacs.
If there was one thing to improve about her student teaching experience, Rinkacs said it would be the ability to make sure all of her students achieve success in this new schooling format.
“I never thought I would undertake this concept as a personal issue. Their successes are also mine, and their failures too. However, I’m not home with them when they’re virtual, and as hard as it is, I cannot control their environments, nor their motivation at home.”
“I hope that the school and myself can find a way to support these struggling students while at home, and hopefully create a space where children can feel as if they’re at school, even on the days they’re home.”
Ultimately, one word to describe Rinkacs’ teaching experience has been “perspective,” she said.
“There’s a light at the end of this. Learning through the perspectives of others, and unconditionally working hard, you can make the best out of your experience.”
Zachary J. Balkam, a senior at Stonehill College, teaches 5th grade at the Richardson Olmstead Elementary School in Easton.
“We applied for student teaching in March, right when the pandemic struck. As a whole, we didn’t overthink about how it may affect our future endeavors with teaching,” Balkam said.
As time went on and the country’s condition worsened, Zack said he began to grow nervous about his student teaching placement.
“We hadn’t heard anything from the Stonehill Education Department,” he said.
In May, Balkam said Education majors met with the department head, Kathy McNamara, via Zoom. In the meeting, she offered students the option to enroll in the Fall classes and pursue student teaching in the Spring.
“She told us that even the Education department was at a loss for how to move forward. Since the times were changing so frequently with the pandemic, they couldn’t come up with a concrete plan for their students,” said Balkam.
“No one knows if the pandemic will improve come to Springtime, so I decided to continue with student teaching in the Fall, and I am grateful that I did,” Balkam said.
Balkam said he had learned more in this month of teaching than his entire time at Stonehill. Due to his position, he said he had to learn new technological systems and practices very quickly.
“The skills I’ve learned from using Google Meet and Zoom are indispensable skills I can use in my professional journey forever,” said Balkam.
For teachers, Balkam said that he notices the differences in adjustment for teachers. Some come off more stressed, seem inflexible with technology, and have a fixed mindset about this massive change.
“Teaching young students during a pandemic while also learning how to teach online yourself is extremely difficult,” he said.
Balkam said if teachers were to remain positive and grateful for the ability to return to the classroom, this outlook on teaching during COVID-19 could improve.
Balkam said that increased communication between administration and faculty within school systems could improve his student teaching experience. Still, he understands how this communication can be difficult to achieve right now.
“Everyone is doing the best they can to adapt to the times. I understand new information and updates are coming in every day, and it can be hard to keep everyone up to date. Break downs in communication can happen.” Balkam said.
In describing his student teaching experience, Balkam said it has been “stressful but rewarding.”
Every morning, Balkam arrives at school, meets with his teacher, and goes over the day’s schedule. They start the morning at 8:15 over Google Meet.
“I have seven students who are completely remote this year.” said Balkam.
He said that the Google Meet session projects on the whiteboard, where the in-class students can see the remote students’ faces.
Every day, Balkam’s classroom separates into two groups. One group will work on writing prompts or math problems, while the other group will have a snack.
For snack time, Balkam said he lines students up six feet apart and head outside. He then has to spread them out 10 feet apart while they eat with their masks off. Afterward, they line up, get hand sanitizer, and the next group proceeds.
At 12:45, his students pack up to go home for the day. Once they’re home, they eat lunch and resume with schoolwork asynchronously, where they do assignments independently until 3:00. There is no homework given, said Balkam.
“Until this experience, I never understood how amazing and special children are. They have dealt with a multitude of struggles and turmoil during this time, and they all deal with it as best they can,” said Balkam.
“I’m so proud of my students. It is hard to be a kid during a pandemic, yet they continue to succeed within the classroom and remain unconditionally polite and sweet to their teachers and classmates.” Balkam said.
“Though I’m teaching amidst the consequences of this pandemic, my student teaching experience has only reinforced that this is what I want to do with my life,” Balkam said.
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