One Man’s Ramblings

Showing our teachers some love

We should be sending teachers in Iowa Park flowers and Sevi’s breakfast burritos every day for the work they are putting in during this crazy new school year.

Because their work as a whole has become more demanding and a bit nuttier than ever.

When the campuses here in Iowa Park and around the rest of the country closed in the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone in the school system from the top down – administration, teachers, staff and students – were pretty much forced to engage in an online learning process.

Fortunately for Iowa Park, we have been aggressively pursuing a one-toone digital footprint in the schools, meaning we have been advancing our technology (for years now) to bring students and teachers hardware and software so courses could be taught in either an in-person or online format, or even both.

During the spring, all students in Texas were given a pass/fail grade for the work they did from home.

The majority of them had access to internet and the online courses. Some students didn’t have that access, and were provided paperwork by the school.

This fall, that access to internet hasn’t changed.

Going into the fall, schools in Texas were encouraged to return to in-person instruction. Because of the ongoing coronarivus pandemic, the Texas Education Agency allowed school districts to offer choices depending on their geographical impact from the virus – ranging from all online instruction, to a mixture of online and in-person instruction.

Iowa Park CISD chose to offer parents either in-person or online.

And of those parents, 87 percent chose to send their kids back to school in August.

The remainder are to be taught online.

Each campus has approached this scenario differently, depending on the curriculum. As you advance into the high school level, things get pretty complicated because of the variety of courses offered.

As a whole, teachers are required each day to achieve a roll call – between those in class and those at home. And then, to teach them.

This week at the school board meeting they talked about synchronous and asynchronous teaching.

I had to dig out the old dictionary to understand the two. Synchronous learning is online or distance education that happens in real time.

Asynchronous learning occurs through online channels without real-time interaction.

From what I gathered from listening to audio of the trustee meeting, our schools are currently engaged in asyncronous learning. Those students being taught online have the responsibility to log in each day, and to complete their assignments by a certain time.

We are now wanting to implement synchronous learning, especially during testing.

What that means is, a teacher will have a 9 a.m. class, where students in class report. They will also have online students logging in at the same time, in a Zoom format where they can be viewed.

The teacher is then responsible for administering the test, and watching both the class and the monitor to ensure no student is doing the naughty, such as asking Siri on their cellphones what the answer is to a certain question.

In other words, and in the perfect world, synchronous teaching allows a level playing field for those taking the test.

And that makes perfect sense. But it also adds more work for the teacher.

And, as our curriculum and technology guru Jodi Schlaud said, some teachers are very tech savvy, and some need a little help.

So they are all working to bring all our teachers up to snuff on this new scenario.

And I’ve heard there has been some frustration and anxiety as the process unfolds. But I also hear they are all making progress.

Heck, I wouldn’t want to be in a teacher’s shoes. As for technology, I was at one time right there in front. But now, any 12-year-old can outgun me with an iPhone without blinking an eye.

So, being a teacher in school these days is quite different than two years ago. And it might never be the same again.

Right now, they are busting their tails trying to get things right. And I have their backs, Bubba.

So, give your kid an extra apple or a “thank you” card in the morning, or maybe a spray of wildflowers or a single rose stem to give to their teacher.

We need those teachers more than anything to get us through these times. Keep them on your good side.