Bright Owl Writing & Editing

Taylor Hunter prepares her classroom for the upcoming school year. Her classroom is nicely decorated with fairy lights strung all around the dark blue walls. The desks are all aligned and clean. Her desk is neatly organized. 

Hunter’s classroom has been empty since the middle of March, but her school is starting the fall with a hybrid schedule of in-person and online classes. She hopes the bright and warm decor will help students feel a little more comfortable in these unusual circumstances. Hunter has been teaching high school for three years. She just started her second year at a school in Colorado. She has noticed one massive, crucial change the shift to online and hybrid classes has brought to students and teachers alike — stress in dealing with the unexpected. “A lot of teachers and students didn’t know what to expect for this school year,” she says. “It’s been a new challenge for all of us.”
 
Hunter’s school is running on a schedule of two days in-person, two days at-home, and a weekly meeting via Zoom. “The reason the students are struggling is because when they are at home they don’t do the work,” she says. “It’s difficult to help motivate them.” Teachers have been struggling to adjust to this new normal. When everything shut down in March it was difficult to adjust to online schooling. Over the summer they had a bit of time to figure things out and though things have improved a little, by and large they are still coping with challenges from the changes. 

She has observed that her students typically fall into three categories: good, mediocre, and those who don’t try. “The good students,” she says, “are still doing OK, the mediocre ones and the ones who don’t try are really falling behind.”

Alexis Christensen teaches fourth grade in Utah County. She noticed a similar pattern. “When things turned online in March, it was interesting to see which kids did well and which kids struggled,” she says. “I had a couple students who never even got online to do assignments no matter how often I reached out. I also had students who only did about 50% of the work.” “A majority of those students who are struggling are in the same group that have learning disabilities or need other accommodations,” she says, “so school is already difficult for them.” Christensen says her school is now back in-person. She says this has helped a lot. “With my students being back in class things are much better,” she said. “Students are excited to be back, but I can tell that being out of a regular school setting for longer than normal set them back academically.” 

Jamie Dannley teaches 7th grade English in Utah County. She’s also seen that some students do OK online while others have more difficulty. “I have a few unmotivated students, but many of them also have learning disabilities which just makes school difficult,” Dannley says. 

Melissa Hartley has been teaching high school for fifteen years. This year she started a new position as assistant principal for Pleasant Grove Middle School. Her school is conducting classes as usual, but students had the option to take their classes online. She says this year has been difficult for students and teachers. “There’s an increase in pressure and responsibility, Hartley says, “students and parents are asking for more accommodations than usual and our teachers are spread thin.” Although this year has been difficult, Hartley has some hope for the future. “We’re learning as we go. Pleasant Grove High School had to shut down, but they learned from it and plan to help other schools,” she says.
 
Hartley said this school year has been very hard, but she wants students and parents to realize that they’re doing their best to cope with the situation. “We’re doing all we can, it’s not perfect, but we’re also not trained for this,” she explains, “we’re trying to keep things as normal as we can, just be patient and understanding.” 

Hunter says as a teacher, this school year has been “a nightmare.” She says she is unsure of how long students and teachers can last like this. “I don't think it’s sustainable,” Hunter says, “teachers especially are overwhelmed with their workload. Not many of the aspects of my job have improved, they’ve gotten worse.”