Back in School

This week was the first full week back in school. My classes haven't changed, but one group of kids comes in on Monday/Wednesdays. Another group comes in on Tuesday/Thursday. There are two kids in my 1st block who can come in all 4 days, but only one shows up regularly. There are other kids who stay virtual...and then there's a kid or two who I've never seen hide nor hair of (One of which got busted when I caught her mom on the phone. She'd told her mom she liked my class better than the other Geometry teachers, and I said "I don't see how. I've never seen her in class.")

There are 9 desks available in the room (Though, I claimed one for myself front middle. I'll have to relocate if numbers increase). The kids aren't exactly spaced out evenly.

1st block (w/Marcel)

M/W: 6

Tu/Th: 6

Online only: 1

2nd block

M/W: 3

Tu/Th: 6 

Online only: 9 

4th block 

M/W: 2

Tu/Th: 5

Online only: 10

Just like everything this pandemic, the main trend is that there's a wide divide on how everyone feels about it! Only 1 kid stayed virtual in my 1st block, it's even 2nd block, and then the majority stayed virtual 4th block!

I sometimes use Google forms to disseminate information and pick up student opinions and they're predictably varied (once you count out the idk's and no comments).

"What's really helping is when I'm in person you guys come around and ask do we need help with anything."

"In regards to the last question, I would choose virtual school over physical school if I felt like covid numbers were too high/not being taken seriously enough and school was unsafe"

"Coming back is the dumbest decision Albemarle County can make"

"i'm honestly just ready to come back already."

I liked being able to see kids again. There were some kids who've done next to nothing online, but now that I have them in a room they have no choice about interacting!

It is wildly different than last year. I used to have 25 kids in the room seated in groups to talk to each other. Now I have a maximum of 6 kids spread out in rows facing forward and I can wheel around in a rolly-chair like a race car driver.

Teaching in person, I feel it's better to teach for short spurts and then let students interact with the material and each other. I plan to have activity across the whole period, but with some natural breaks to connect with students and allow them to connect to each other.

Teaching online, I'm incentivized to do all of my talking at once, because the moment students log off they disappear the rest of the day. I post my work every morning, so some students routinely finish all their work before they even arrive.

Still, it's going well enough. I'm working on getting over the feeling that I'm ignoring the kids in the room when I speak to the kids in the computer.

So far, all the kids who have come in seem excited to be back. I only have one kid who's sometimes bad about his mask dropping below his nose, but it's not for any malicious reason. I don't believe it's a cause for concern. 

I have been assigned a 45 minute bathroom duty 4 times a week. Basically, I sit in the hallway and make sure only 1 student goes into the bathroom at a time.

It's boring. 

I have a hard time focusing on grading when I get interrupted every now and then, so I sometimes read a book on my phone and grade when I get home. 

Originally, the county was going to mandate 2 extra duties a week. Some people complained, but if it was the price of going back in I didn't have a problem with it (Plus, we still get virtual Fridays!). However, one of the county lawyers said that teachers couldn't be required to do extra duties during our planning without compensation...and the county listened! They made extra duties voluntary, but paid!

I signed up for 4! I'm in school working anyway, so why not help out and get a little extra?

And so the week went!