Thursday, April 23, 2020
Julie Williams is a health science teacher at Oak Creek High School in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a school with more than 2,100 students. She also has a five-year-old at home. In this interview, she talks about her experience as she has moved to distance learning brought on by COVID-19.
When your school was closed due to COVID-19, what was your initial reaction?
I was surprised. I’m glad that our district made the decision to go virtually though.
How did the school handle disbursement of technology and connectivity issues?
Freshmen and sophomores had already been issued Chromebooks but we had to get Chromebooks to juniors and seniors. As far as connectivity, hotspots were given out for those who needed them.
During spring break and the first week of class, what did you learn?
I had used Google Classroom before so I felt semi-comfortable with that. But learning how to do virtual meetings was a steep learning curve. I was nervous about it so I met with one of my classes [during spring break] to practice.
How do you help students who are having a hard time?
I send personal email to the struggling students. I’m also letting the school counselors and administrators know, and any other support personnel, whoever it might be.
What kinds of resources are helping you right now?
One of the things I learned pretty quickly was the more I could have online assessments, the easier it was for my students and me. I use Edulastic to prepare time-limited assessments.
Having a connection either to professional associations or national organizations has been a big help, too. At the national level, the National Consortium for Health Science Education has been sending out free resources and doing webinars and zoom meetings.
Publishers are also offering free resources, but they seem a little advanced so I’m having to adjust them for my sophomores.
How do you juggle work and home life, especially with a five-year-old?
It’s challenging but we’re making it through. I’m trying to balance my school time and her school time.
I’ve learned to set office hours. If I try to reach a student at 9 a.m., they may still be asleep. On the other hand, if I’m on their schedule, I might be working until 10 p.m. The question I have is, could we be facing the same scenario in the fall? If so, I need to be asking myself, Is what I’m teaching relevant, meaningful, and purposeful for another round of distance learning?
In parenting, we like to play and spend more time walking outdoors.
And then I limit myself to two media breaks a day so I’m informed but not overwhelmed with information.
The combination lets me do my job, parent, and work in some breaks. In the classroom, there are a lot of interruptions so sometimes I think, it’s just a normal day with lots of distractions!
I miss my students. I miss going to school. We as educators want to feel that we’re providing the best for our students.
What are your biggest concerns?
I’m concerned about my students’ social-emotional health. To add on a lot of busy work isn’t necessary. It’s trying to find that balance.
Some of my Youth Apprenticeship students are working as CNAs in hospitals and nursing homes. They might be terminated. Some of our students are on the frontlines. How awesome that they’re able to have this experience! But it also makes me scared for them. It makes it all very real. For some of them it solidifies that this is what they really want to do. It makes me proud and nervous for them, but I trust they are well-trained and prepared as future health professionals, and I'm glad to have played a part towards their future career goals.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development do not require students to continue working at Youth Apprenticeship (YA) or Wisconsin cooperative education program (COOP) learning experiences while the Safer At Home Order is in place. Students may still receive credit for these programs if the student chooses not to continue working. All YA and COOP programs require participating employers to provide student employees with the same training as regular employees, which includes universal precautions in health care settings.