A screen full of profile pictures and dark squares, a classroom with masked faces and desk shields are all now familiar sights for teachers.
A few weeks ago, I sat down to talk with two teachers about how they’ve transitioned into hybrid learning. Something they both could agree on: how much they missed the Fieldston community. “I think our work is based on relationships, and those little pieces of relationships are missing,” says Carl Anhalt, Form VI Dean.
Every teacher has new challenges this school year, whether that entails mastering an at-home teaching set up, becoming their own tech support, or monitoring the quad at lunchtime. Anhalt, like many other teachers, has the added responsibility of making hundreds of students socially distance. He notes, “I’m empathetic that new routines are hard to adopt, there’s a reason we have to adopt them.”
However, the learning itself has not been easy either. English teacher Marjorie Gruder spoke about how difficult it is to stay inside her “teacher box.” Tape markings confine teachers to a small area of the classroom, limiting their ability to interact with students and providing yet another reminder of the world we now live in. Even with open windows and doors, classrooms are now designed to constrict students to their own desk areas. With shields protecting them from others and wipes strewn about, areas previously filled with conversations and ideas are now an ominous representation of the pandemic.
In both interviews, as well as in conversations with fellow students, it has become clear what we all miss most: each other. Seeing masked faces and screens doesn’t compare to the chatter echoing in the hallways or the groups of students sitting with one another on the quad. Ms. Gruder says, “I miss being with my people, I miss us being together.”
In this vein, Ms. Gruder relayed a vital message to her students: “I want them to remember that we’re all in this together, and we’ll pull through it together.” Regardless of whether one is home or in school, in New York City or across the country, there is a consensus that we, as a community, are going to continue to fight this daunting battle together, with individual squares projected onto the smartboard, masks pulled up and windows open wide.
