48 • Outlook 2021
Tyrrell teachers navigate pandemic challenges to reach students
Courtesy Tyrrell County Schools
by Danielle Puleo
Perhaps one of the most selfless occupations one could become involved with is teaching. Knowledge is a key ingredient in success and the only way to achieve such crucial understanding is to learn. Teachers serve as guides, mentors, caretakers and so much more. Their days are, for the most part, spent sharing their knowledge with students and helping their students grow intellectually, as well as mentally and emotionally. While this is the core of an educational career, there is so much more that goes into the role of a teacher. Tyrrell County has had its fair share of changes and challenges during the COVID19 pandemic, the school system being no exception. Having to learn and teach remotely was something no one saw coming. Everyone involved had to come together to find a way to make it work. “We lost the physical face-to-face for a year and we have been trying to figure out how to wrap our mind around all of that,” said Superintendent of Tyrrell County Schools Oliver Holley. “The teachers have adjusted well to all the changes…but none of us have taken a class on how to run a class during a pandemic.”
Prior to the pandemic, teachers across the nation had lesson plans in place with hands-on projects scheduled, in-person labs equipped, and materials ready to go at the start of the school year. Summers were spent preparing for classes that would soon be in session. Homework was graded regularly, cafeterias were full at lunch time and sports practices were set to start right after the class day ended. The COVID-19 pandemic changed all of that and so much more. North Carolina’s governor Roy Cooper implemented an executive order in March 2020 mandating schools to switch to virtual learning; all classes were to be held remotely. For months, teachers were working with their students from their living room couches and home offices. It wasn’t until January 2021 that Tyrrell County Schools allowed a limited number of students to attend in-person classes while practicing social distancing. Operating on a hybrid schedule, students of Tyrrell County have the choice to either learn in-person or virtually. Those students that have opted to come to into the physical classroom are grouped into sections and either go in-person on Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday, leaving Wednesdays
for deep cleaning. Virtual learners join their classmates during class session via Google Meet. Michael Mills, a science teacher at Columbia Middle School, described the situation as something educators have had to “react to.” “It has been difficult to plan for something you have not anticipated,” he said. As students are walking into the classroom, others are joining the class virtually before the lesson begins. Mills said he will project his lessons on the Smartboard in the classroom so all students can see and learn together. Lessons are now recorded so that students can go back and review the information. This was enacted due to the lack of dependable broadband service in the area. If a student loses connection during class, they can review the information when connection is revived. For Mills, the pandemic has affected how he runs his classroom in many ways. “It’s challenging because I’m a science teacher and I firmly believe that we should be elbow deep in whatever we are doing instead of watching.” Lab experiments are now observed and completed digitally.
