Reflection on In-Person Teaching
September 17, 2020
I was so happy to see (and read) a journal article in support of in-person learning. On September 11, Phi Delta Kappan, a professional journal for educators, published an article entitled, “In-person learning’s tentative successes deserve more coverage.” The author begins by pointing out that if left up to the media, one would presume that with the start of the school year comes two things: remote instruction and COVID outbreaks.
That’s not the only story to be told. He states that millions, yes millions of students are going back to schools for in-person instruction throughout the United States. Our experience thus far, in our in-person return to school, has been positive, quite positive, in fact.
We needed to adjust to how we go about our day-to-day activities, from wearing a mask (except when eating/drinking or participating in PE), to six-foot physical distancing in classrooms, to one-way travel in the academic wing. Daily mass, a priority for our community, has shifted to the gym, where we can physically distance. I can even, on occasion, hear the refrain of the closing song being sung at a whisper behind masks by the seniors.
Our primary objective through all of this has been to provide a safe and healthy educational environment for the whole community. We have seen the fruits of our labor in the fact that we are at the end of our fifth week of school and have not needed to quarantine any segment of the community. I would like for us to continue in this vein. Please continue, as a family, to make wise and loving choices. Curtail your contact with people who are outside your bubble. We are #Stronger Together.
