Education in the time of coronavirus

“If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?” was the question I presented to my students at 8:30 a.m. It took longer than usual for them to respond because rather than meeting face-to-face in room 315 at Archbishop Curley High School, we were on either side of a Google Classroom screen. This morning check-in is going to be my way to make sure my students are OK while the novel coronavirus and the ensuing school closures, keeps us apart.

Distance learning is nothing new, but taking classes online is usually a choice, not a mandate. Many of my friends have shared that they and their children or students will be participating in everything from live streaming classrooms to continued use of digital platforms (such as Google Classroom, which I use), to 2-inch-thick packets printed in a hurry. In some Catholic high schools, such as Curley, students are required to purchase their own iPads, which are used daily. Most of those students have daily assignments to be completed and submitted online, which is then graded and returned by the teacher. In public schools like the one my children attend, there aren’t enough devices to go around and students are expected to use whatever electronic resources they have at home to access a long list of learning links.

I assigned a creative “Romeo and Juliet” conclusion project with my Curley freshmen and a research project with the sophomores and juniors. There are deadlines for each step of the assignment and options to type their responses or screenshot what they’ve drawn or written on paper. I had the technology department install my school email account on my cell phone so that I am always a few keystrokes away.

Of course, it gets complicated because I am also managing my four children while attempting to teach online. I have created a schedule that includes time for outdoor play, traditional learning, digital learning, reading, meals, rest and the arts. I spent this morning downloading resources from Teachers Pay Teachers and printing worksheets that are catered to the needs of my preschooler, kindergartener, second grader, and fifth-grader. I also ordered a science experiment kit online and stocked up on some glue sticks and other supplies that I forgot to grab from my Curley classroom.

When I surveyed the shelves I reserved in my kitchen for our new “home school,” I realized I had left out a very important piece to my children’s education. Faith.

I gathered some religious books and statues, rosaries and candles and reserved a place for them in my classroom library. I reminded myself that now more than ever is the time to draw closer to God. In all this chaos, we can’t forget that it is Lent, and we can’t let our inability to celebrate Mass in our churches prevent us from practicing our faith at home.

Catholic parents should seize this as an opportunity to reinforce our beliefs and values in our children. And even though we can’t meet in person, Catholic high school teachers should do the same for their students. In these uncertain times, it is our obligation to remind the vulnerable, including children, that because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, there is always hope. After all, my freshmen boys need to know that someday they can visit California, Venice, South Africa, Japan and Hawaii.

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