When news of the pandemic spread, its effects began to reach into every sector society, schools included. School systems were upended by sudden changes and totally new ways of doing things.
Substitute teaching wasn’t immune from staying untouched by this sweep of events, either.
Today, I have Chocolate for the Teach contributing writer Felice sharing her story of substitute teaching during the pandemic. Here’s what she experienced:
It seemed the whole world stopped in 2020, and like most everyone, I was scared and confused. COVID impacted everyone. It changed how we did things in our daily lives and in our jobs. In a sudden pivot, isolation was the norm and gathering with friends and family or work colleagues was deemed risky. This flipped the job of substitute teaching upside down, too.
It was March of 2020, and I was subbing for a teacher on maternity leave at my regular elementary school just before Spring Break. I remember the third grade students being excited about the upcoming days off.
After the students were dismissed that Friday, I straightened up the classroom and left the stacks of handouts and other assignments on the teacher’s desk. Little did I know, that would be the last day of school for the year!
A Spring Break Wake-Up Call
My family and I traveled during Spring Break. We returned home to the news that the virus was almost everywhere in the U.S. Social distancing was highly recommended as was sanitizing hands and surfaces.
Our school district announced that schools were temporarily closing for a few days, so many people ran to the grocery store to stock up on items like bathroom tissue, hand sanitizers, paper towels, and extra food.
I was a little surprised at the news and slightly alarmed about how fast the virus was spreading.
The promised school days off came and went, and still there were no plans to open the schools. Then our state governor announced on television that schools were not going to reopen for the rest of the year!
There was no going back to work for me!
Teachers began sending emails about online classes, schedules, and assignments as they hurried to pivot everything online. Students were supposed to login each day and watch their teachers present lessons and then submit assignments online. The state’s scheduled standardized tests ended up waived, and that’s how the school year ended.
A New School Year, A Totally Different Way
In August of 2020, students were given the option of attending classes in person or online in my state.
There were many safety protocols in the schools, like requiring staff, students and teachers to use the newly installed hand sanitizers in each classroom and requiring everyone to bring their own refillable water bottle since the water fountains were covered up. The most challenging– and contentious– protocol was requiring everyone to wear a mask over their nose and mouth. Masks were uncomfortable and made communication difficult for the teachers, students, and everyone in between.
I wasn’t sure about subbing during the pandemic. I was concerned about my safety and exposing my family to the virus if I caught it. However, my daughter was determined to go to middle school in person so that made my decision sub decisive.
I figured I would try to substitute teach at her school and see how things were going.
Pandemic Substitute Teaching: What It Was Really Like
Teachers who contracted COVID or were exposed to someone with COVID were supposed to quarantine for two weeks. This resulted in a lot of teachers having to stay home to get well or take care of any family members who were ill. Because of this, the demand for substitute teachers skyrocketed that fall.
If students were online and not in school, teachers had to teach them over video calls like Zoom or through a learning management system.
In a dizzying array of configurations, some teachers had to teach both online and in person students at the same time, while other teachers were teaching online students only, in a separate room. Some rooms were designated in-person only, and were merged with other classrooms. It was crazy!
I found myself subbing for a 4th grade teacher who got COVID right before the beginning of the school year. I was equipped with my mask, bottle of water, hand sanitizer and my own supplies.
It was hard to communicate with the students who were also masked. I tried cloth masks and surgical masks, but it was still difficult to understand the students when they talked and they couldn’t really understand me when I spoke. Even when I used the classroom microphone, my voice sounded muffled. I ended up holding the mic under my mask or just taking my mask off to talk to the students while standing away from them near the white board.
After the students left for specials or when they switched classrooms, I had to sanitize the desks and the desk dividers. I disinfected these surfaces at each day’s end, as well.
All (Washed) Hands on Deck: An Unconventional School Year
After the fourth grade assignment, I covered for a middle school teacher who was also quarantined. I had another sub in the classroom helping me, and I was thankful for her! She would have the online students on Zoom and turn the camera on me so they could listen to the lesson and instructions. Then she would monitor the online students and help them by answering questions while I helped the in-person students. She and I worked well as a team for a whole week.
I also ended up in the orchestra room for a few days. The co-director was there with me and had the online students on Zoom while instructing and directing the in-person students. I mainly helped with camera adjustments and bathroom breaks.
That year, I was lucky not to get COVID, and neither did my family. There was only one time in that next spring where I started to feel bad during the day, but I pushed on. I ended up testing negative for COVID, but I had to stay home for a few days.
This experience was unique, challenging and memorable in so many ways. I had even told one 6th grade class that they were making history by going to school during a pandemic. After a few snarky remarks, they agreed it was a unique time in their lives. I even suggested they write about it. I hope they did!
The pandemic was a challenging and uncertain time for teachers and subs. But I really feel like we all worked together in order to keep education going for the students and to keep everyone at school safe.
What were your pandemic teaching experiences? I’d love to hear all about it!
