By Elizabeth DaCunha, Special to the Neighb News
Hello to all of my readers! For the past couple of weeks I’ve been giving you the inside look at hybrid learning from a student’s perspective. This week, I decided to switch things up a bit, and interviewed staff at Fairhaven High School to uncover their thoughts on hybrid learning, and how COVID has affected their jobs.
The first question I asked was for their opinion on the effectiveness of hybrid learning.
I spoke to Tara Kohler, the district’s assistant superintendent, who told me, “We were given certain parameters from the state and worked within that. In hindsight, we could always do better, and will work to improve as we proceed.”
“I personally like it,” said a science teacher. “Students have been wanting change for as long as I have been teaching, and I think that a hybrid model is a way that many students can access their education, while having flexibility in their schedule.”
Another valuable point made by several teachers is that both educators and students are now forced to use technology and learn new computer skills that will help them in their future.
Mr. McNeil shared his thoughts as well: “The hybrid model of education does afford us the chance to meet with students, to follow up with work assigned during the remote learning week, but it still remains a challenge for course loads have doubled. And health and safety remain a concern during this, a time of rising rates of infection.”
“From an educator’s perspective, I do think students’ education is suffering,” said Mr. Foster. “That being said, I know for a fact that all teachers are working extremely hard to provide the best education we can for our students under these circumstances.”
Another teacher felt that kids’ learning is suffering, but added, “However, there are some silver linings. This has forced students to be much more independent and accountable for their own learning. This has also forced students to improve their ‘time management’ skills.”
Mr. McNeil wanted to mention that not only are the teachers putting in a great deal of effort to make this new learning model work, but so are the students, who, he said, “work diligently to understand the work and complete the tasks assigned during remote learning.”
I think it’s safe to say that no matter how excellent a learning plan provides work for students, there will never be a perfect education system, especially when there’s a pandemic going on around us.
Not only are students making adjustments, but so are teachers, facing changes at work.
One teacher said she had to “revamp” some of her teaching methods.
Mr. McNeil reflected on his first few months of teaching during a pandemic, saying, “Ancillary materials, suggested by the state DESE [Department of Elementary and Secondary Education], have not helped in my area of study.¨
Mr. Foster, who had to start teaching health again after 15 years of instructing physical education, has also had to make adjustments that he says have, “ultimately made me a better teacher.¨
For example, “I have more classes that I need to keep track of for both in person and hybrid weeks,” he said.
As assistant superintendent, Ms. Kohler has had to implement the safety guidelines provided to ensure safety throughout the school district.
“This includes weekly meetings with the state, reading updates to laws and regulations, and many health updates and advisories,” she said. “I have to monitor and implement new protocols.¨
There’s hope that the hybrid model will be improved upon, and I asked for teachers to share what improvements they would like to see.
Several teachers said they would like to have more contact with students, or even offer different learning options in the future that could include remote learning along with traditional in-school education.
One staff member said that he would like to see students get the total school experience, including extracurricular activities, which is what I will be discussing in my next article.
As always, stay safe, and stay tuned for the next DaCunha´s Dispatches!
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