Once the students had devices and Wi-Fi, Ms. Kim set up weekly grids with virtual lab simulations and activities. She also had an optional weekly check-in meeting. However, participation was low, and the number of assignments turned in dwindled. Ms. Kim empathized with the students and prioritized addressing their stress levels over their academics.<\/p>\n
We would have check-ins during the online sessions where we\u2019d ask the students, \u201cHow are you feeling about this? If you had to say your mood, which emoji is your mood?\u201d . . . It was hard to know what to expect as far as, \u201cHow do you grade on this?\u201d You can\u2019t really fault the students for not getting their work done in the middle of all this chaos.<\/em><\/p>\n In 2020\u201321, Ms. Kim and most of her students were back at school in person. In the classroom, masks and social distancing were required, which ignited heated arguments that mirrored the arguments around COVID nationwide. Ms. Kim knew the science behind the virus and was in favor of masking indoors for safety. However, she also knew masking all day was difficult for students, so she allowed her classes to take frequent mask breaks outside. Unfortunately, one of her well-intentioned mask breaks was recorded by a community member, who claimed the video was evidence that the school was not taking students\u2019 safety seriously.<\/p>\n One time I was on a brain break and took the kids down to a park a couple blocks away from the school. Kids had their masks off, and they were outside, but they were walking closer than six feet, and we saw this car go by us really slowly. The people had their camera up and they were filming us. And then you see on Facebook, \u201cThe school\u2019s not doing what they need to do!\u201d That was disheartening, because we were bending over backwards to try to do what we could do. And people were always looking for something to point a finger at and to be derogatory toward the school system. That was hard because as educators, our heart and our souls are loving on these students and helping them to have a future.<\/em><\/p>\n To Ms. Kim, this experience highlighted that COVID was not only a scientific information issue, but also a social behavior one. Therefore, she started having discussions as a class about how to function in a community when you have disagreements.<\/p>\n There was such a division there for a while, even nationally\u2014vaccinated and not vaccinated, mask and no mask. The students pick up on that, and they get angry and in-your-face and very opinionated. I think the discussions helped them to at least understand that it\u2019s a personal decision. Everybody has to look at the facts and make their own decision. And just because someone\u2019s different, you shouldn\u2019t shame them for that. They have a right to make that choice. . . . We\u2019ve got to learn to have these discussions where we disagree on things and are able to hear each other out, respect each other, and try to find the best path for our society. So being able to do that in the classrooms is important, which is kind of the first society they know.<\/em><\/p>\n As the pandemic dragged into the 2021\u201322 school year, Ms. Kim saw student social and emotional problems worsen. COVID prevention measures were lifted, and, on the surface, life looked more normal. However, the combination of COVID and other serious current events dominating the national news, such as gun violence and racial inequities, took its toll. She noticed many students had become depressed, withdrawn, and apathetic towards school.<\/p>\n Even when they were back in school, they wouldn\u2019t do the work to a very high quality. It\u2019s like they thought, \u201cWell, I missed two weeks, and nobody seemed to care. So, whatever. It doesn\u2019t really matter. Education\u2019s not important.\u201d . . . And I think it\u2019s not just COVID at this point, it\u2019s all the other things that are happening in the world. The school shootings, the racial tension, the presidential election, all of those things stirred a lot of [stress]. The kids really care, and they\u2019re listening to adults talking. They\u2019re listening to the media, and they take a lot of that on their shoulders. . . . Some of their behavior is not really because they don\u2019t want to be at school or they\u2019re not putting in effort, it\u2019s because of the burdens that they\u2019re trying to process.<\/em><\/p>\n Parents\u2019 attitudes toward education also shifted during this time. Instead of working together as a team, Ms. Kim felt that many parents were mistrustful and judgmental of the teaching profession.<\/p>\n [Parents had] this attitude toward education: \u201cAnybody can do it.\u201d You had people that were wanting to homeschool their kids, and after about two weeks, they were sending them back to school because it didn\u2019t work for them. Everybody thought that they could do a better job, and they found out quickly they couldn\u2019t. . . . It was a struggle with lack of parent support. There were other teachers in our school that were [getting] some criticism for how they taught. And then [teachers] were demanding that their students step it up, and the parents were not really backing the teacher and pushing the student to get their work turned in.<\/em><\/p>\n After two years of COVID-related struggles, Ms. Kim was worn down and burned out. She even considered leaving the profession, but eventually decided the stakes were too high to quit during the upheaval of the pandemic.<\/p>\n We were so focused on making sure everything was high quality, and we wanted everybody to do their best and didn\u2019t want any gaps. We all took a lot on our shoulders. You go home at night, and you think of what you could do differently or better, and you don\u2019t take care of yourself. You don\u2019t eat. You don\u2019t exercise. You\u2019re just totally absorbed in what\u2019s going on with work. It was difficult. In fact, I considered making it my last year. . . . You just feel like maybe there\u2019s somebody younger with more energy that needs to have this role. But I\u2019ve decided to give it at least one more year, because who wants to make this kind of decision when you\u2019re in in the middle of a war?<\/em><\/p>\n Ms. Kim views teachers as an integral part of children\u2019s well-being\u2014not in opposition to the community, but as part of the community. She modeled this way of thinking in her teaching throughout the pandemic, challenging students to respectfully live in a society with people who hold different views. Ms. Kim hopes that parents and the broader community can do the same, coming back together around common goals as the pandemic comes I think if we could all just learn to appreciate each other as professionals and as community members, [recognizing] that we\u2019re on a team where we\u2019re wanting the best for their children, and we are open to discussions. . . . Hold people accountable, but don\u2019t shame people because of things that they feel are not right. For the students, we want them to have a strong future, and we realize that the world that we have right now is what they\u2019ve got to grow up into. We want them to have healthy lives and happy lives, so let\u2019s work together for that.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
\nto an end.<\/p>\n![\"Elementary\"](\"https:\/\/www.horizon-research.com\/RAPID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/giovanni-gagliardi-fvT3t9iOaJI-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" "\\"Elementary\\"")
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![\"Middle\"](\"https:\/\/www.horizon-research.com\/RAPID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/getty-images-I-451dMhv5U-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" "\\"Middle\\"")
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![\"High](\"https:\/\/www.horizon-research.com\/RAPID\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/linkedin-sales-solutions-NpyF7rjqmq4-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" "\\"High")
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