Some thoughts on Joplin R-8, COVID-19 and the challenges facing our teachers

The discussion on whether to hold classes in person or on line is one worth having and continuing to revisit as we explore an educational landscape that differs from anything we have ever experienced.

I just finished rewatching Tuesday night's Joplin R-8 Board of Education meeting and the discussion over parameters for returning Joplin High School to all in-person classes.

Just from the visuals, you can see the board is divided in the same way as our community- half of the board members who were in attendance wore masks; the other half did not.

Where all board members are in agreement as far as I can tell is that they would prefer that all classes would be in-person.

Contrary to what our president believes, that is just not possible.

And from all appearances, it seems Joplin R-8 has made the best of a bad situation, managing to maintain the current hybrid system with few disruptions, even though you never can tell when a disruption is just around the corner.

The board may have made its best decision for dealing with COVID-19 when it removed the former superintendent five years ago. Not only has Melinda Moss offered a steady presence as superintendent, but unlike her predecessor, she has no problem with surrounding herself with strong, capable administrators and not people whose vocabulary is limited to the word "yes."

When I watch the board meetings, I feel comfortable seeing people like Steve Gilbreth, Kerry Sachetta and Ron Lankford at the table and just having them in leadership positions makes me much more confident in Moss' leadership.

One fact those leaders recognize (but I wonder about one or two of the board members and a portion of the public) is that this pandemic has created an almost unbearable burden for the district's classroom teachers.

It is a teacher's duty to adjust to the changing times, to embrace advances in technology and incorporate new and varied means of creating lessons and impacting students, but there has never been a time when this much change has been thrust upon them at one time with the expectation that they adapt to the changes immediately.

Consider the extra burdens that have been placed on teachers in the Joplin R-8 School District, as well as teachers in districts across the nation.

-Teachers have to create differentiated lesson plans for students who are attending classes in person and who are attending on line. There is simply no way that the same lesson will work in the same way. In some cases that alone has doubled their workload and that will not improve when classes are returned to the normal schedule. Even then, students whose parents took the option for taking classes virtually will continue to do so, at least through the end of this semester. Lesson plans have to be made for those students.

-When virtual learning became something every teacher had to do, it is not something school officials are going to just throw them in and tell them to sink or swim. It requires an increased amount of professional training, as well as collaboration with their fellow faculty members.

-A move to having virtual learning at least half of the time for all students and all of the time for some has been accompanied by a corresponding increase in the amount of electronic communications between teachers and students. Electronic communications have a tendency to multiply and become ever more time consuming.

-When you have all students in person, it makes it easier for teachers to establish a rapport with students and to be able to work with those who are running into difficulty. Virtual learning does not eliminate the need for teachers to work with all students individually and to help them reach their potential. Now that task is far more difficult.

In addition to having their workload doubled, teachers are being asked to put themselves at risk every day in a job that has always exposed them to every virus that is circulating through the community. Teachers who are older or who have pre-existing conditions may well be risking their lives every time they step into the classroom. Younger teachers may not even realize they have a pre-existing condition.

The district has taken many steps to protect teachers, students and staff, but that provides scarce comfort when COVID-19 cases are rapidly multiplying in the community.

Teachers, like other essential workers, rarely have the option of working from home. 

Good teachers have always been willing to make sacrifices for their students.

None of them ever expected those sacrifices to include their health or God forbid, their lives.

This has been a year unlike any other for teachers in the Joplin R-8 School District and every other school in this nation. Hopefully, this will be something they only have to endure for one year.

Earlier this year, I wrote about the importance of thanking the essential workers, beginning with our health professionals, as well as truck drivers, grocery store employees and everyone else who has continued to provide necessary services during this time of COVID-19.

That same courtesy needs to be extended to the people who show up every day in our classrooms.

If you see a teacher, be sure to express your appreciation- preferably from a safe distance.