Professional Title: Business/Marketing Teacher

Class Year: 2009

Major: Marketing

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Education Experience: 16 years

Please share your experience working with students during the pandemic?

Challenging! I was always told as a first-year teacher that teachers wear many hats and that we must be flexible. I never felt so strongly about those words until now. From March when NYC schools were closed, we moved to remote learning using Google Classroom. It was tough. We were given limited training and endless expectations as to how to engage students and provide instruction. It took me about two weeks to get a system and routine in place, and it became enjoyable. The upside: many students flourished including those who had not done so well in the physical classroom and many felt comfortable sharing their personal experiences with the pandemic (family situations, losing loved ones, unemployment, adapting to change, etc.) The downside: poor attendance. I remained diligent and optimistic that we would all be successful. The summer came, and we were informed that outside service providers would be responsible for instructional content for summer. With this came a host of technical challenges, misinformation, scheduling issues, you name it, we went through it. We are now in the fall semester and it seems as if policies and procedures change daily. My passion for education exceeds the content I teach. I love working with young people, learning about them, being able to share my own experiences, mentoring, and connecting with families. This is still a very difficult time as we all deal with fear and trauma amidst a myriad of very real and present concerns. I remain optimistic that these young people are resilient. They are counting on me, on us as educators, to give them a sense of normalcy. It is very intense, but I am certain that we are stronger together and we will get through this.

What advice would you give to people during this pandemic?

Be kind to yourself! This is for fellow educators, those in other professions, parents, and young people. There is so much happening at once and it is easy to get overwhelmed by goals and plans we had for ourselves. It’s okay. There are certain things that I intended to do over the last six months, but I will not punish myself for not getting them all done. We have to show compassion to one another, especially to teachers. It is almost sad that it took a global pandemic for many to realize how important teachers are to our daily lives. Many have become ill or lost their lives working to provide for and support students. We must honor them but also do what we can to move forward in a way that is safe, equitable, and respectful of families.