By teacher guest blogger Kathryn Rose

As the world spins past the one-year mark of the pandemic that irrevocably changed the landscape of our everyday lives, I cannot help but reflect on how my career has found its own narrow path -- moving me from in-person instruction to teaching in a new, virtual landscape that has been equal measures of panic-inducing and exciting.

For many, it’s hard to imagine what life was like before the Covid-19 virus hit the shores of every single continent in the world. As businesses and professions have pivoted, trying to accommodate to the new health and safety expectations and an uncertain future, teachers have been stepping into the fray, trying to bridge the gap for some of our world’s most vulnerable citizens -- our children.

The Early Days: Sudden Shifts, Fears, and Lost Sleep

It is hard for me to properly express what earth-shattering changes have unfolded in my profession over the past year. Is there a way to memorialize what teaching was like before the pandemic? Will it ever return to something that feels like normal again? Will the programs I so loved to teach during the summer be canceled for a second time?

The swift movement of Covid-19 forced educators in all age groups and departments to -- without a moment’s notice -- leave their schools for an indefinite period of time and translate their entire curriculum to an environment that was 100% virtual.

“I had never done anything like this before. I went from seeing my students every day to trying to create something in my house that could pass for a home office,” said Jamie Rhodes, a kindergarten teacher in central Illinois, “I missed my kids and worried about them. At the time, I really didn’t think that we would finish out the entire year virtually.”

Personally, I felt a sense of loss and an identity shift that was hard to describe or hold on to. I went into plan mode, trying to figure out how to close the gap for my students. When I couldn’t distract myself with work, I sat down and wondered what was going on inside the homes of the students I cared so much about. Were their parents okay? Was anyone going to get sick or lose their job? These questions often kept me up at night and challenged my resolve to open up my computer and face my students in the morning.

The Daily Grind: Learning Adaptability Along with Technology

As the early fear and panic of Covid-19 moved into a long-term understanding of the scope of the problem, teachers moved fast to recreate a curriculum that could be adapted to the home environment. All my teaching supplies had to come home with me and I found myself scouring the web for the best headphones and microphone to use in my noisy apartment. I also figured out just how many tabs I could have open in my browser before my computer crashed!

“I had to rethink my entire year,” said Rhodes, “I had everything planned, but then I needed to find a way to create science experiments and grammar games at home. Sometimes the lessons didn’t even matter to me. I was just concerned about seeing my students every day. Knowing that they were okay and trying to figure out how I could support them during this incredibly difficult time.”

The uncertainty around when we would be able to move back into the school loomed heavy over everyone. Some of my parents were concerned about going back and others were concerned about the potential consequences of school being closed for the entire year. The disruption to our daily routine was constant as new apps, rules, and technology were tried and then discarded.

Academics wasn’t the only portion of school life that was missed. Sports, music, friends, colleagues -- these were all important aspects of our collective social life that were missed acutely.

But I have learned that we are all adaptable and, even though practice and music lessons might look different, we have the ability to create new programming out of horrible circumstances. I believe some of this programming might even create broader academic accessibility and equity in the near future.

As teachers barreled their way through virtual learning, many of my coworkers have expressed that the unforeseen circumstances brought them closer to their students and their families. “I already liked teaching at a small private school,” said Talia Knowles, “I knew my student’s caregivers really well. But now we are like family and I really feel like we are working as a team.”

Indeed, the lines between home and work were often blurred and, when I wasn’t exhausted, I could find gratitude through the parents who were so happy that I was showing up for their student every day.

Pulling Back the Curtain

As the pandemic continues at a slower pace and teachers start to look towards the future with the hope of in-person classes and lessons that don’t always take place in front of a screen, one thing is for certain -- Covid-19 pulled back the curtain and exposed the best that my colleagues have to offer as well as the inequities baked into the landscape that we are often asked to work within. While many school districts had the resources to adapt -- enough computers to go around, and students who had homes with reliable Internet -- many school districts did not.

“We didn’t have enough computers for every student,” one Chicagoland teacher said. “When this started, we thought it was only going to be for a couple of weeks. But when the reality of just how long this was going to be set in, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to get the right technology into the hands of each of my students. My hope is that we find a lesson in all of this, that we work towards getting kids back in school and that we find ways to keep everyone learning.”

A Hopeful Future

As the pandemic ambles towards its end, teachers and students are hoping to finish out the year, whether virtually or in the classroom, on a high note. I, for one, cannot wait to close the book on one of the most stressful and difficult years in my career.

However, I do not take for granted any of the learning and painful growth that I have experienced over the past two years. I know that I am a more empathetic person and, therefore, a more effective teacher. I also know that I am a capable professional and that I belong to a cohort of individuals that keep showing up, even in moments of crisis.

And that gives me hope.

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About Kathryn Rose

Kathryn Rose is currently a virtual tutor and a museum resource teacher. She also freelances for businesses and startups in the education field. She has taught at her city’s botanic garden for 12 years and has been a Social Studies teacher in both private and public schools.