reach students

Tyrrell teachers navigate pandemic challenges to reach students

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.

Courtesy Tyrrell County Schools

“We are trying to keep it as relevant as we possibly can to keep kids engaged,” he noted. Not only has teaching the lesson changed, but engaging students in the lessons has become a challenge through a screen. Mills shared that some students are extremely engaged, offering feedback and asking questions from home. Others, on the other hand, he has to constantly check and make sure they are present at their screens.

Anna Corbin, a mathematics teacher at Columbia High School, said she was one to walk around her classroom and check her student’s papers as they were working on math problems. “That’s become a lot harder with COVID,” she shared. Corbin said she now has to get “creative” with how she checks work. Jamboard has been a big help in allowing students to work out their problems on a program that she and the class can see so everyone is involved. “I can flip through pages and see what students are writing at that time,” she said.

Jennifer Brickhouse, also a mathematics teacher at Columbia High School, has had to change her teaching methods as well. “My teaching style has changed a bit…I have to stay close to my computer now, where I normally walked the room more,” she noted. Although the school cannot require students to have their cameras on during class periods, Brickhouse said she does require all her students to talk during math class.

Her “less is more” approach to teaching, which she adopted a few years back, has helped her transition to this new style of teaching. By giving her students a few thought-provoking questions to see how they find the answer rather than a multitude of questions simply solving equations, Brickhouse has watched students succeed. With the shortened schedule, there is now just enough time for less.

“I wanted to make sure less is more but that the students would want to do it,” Brickhouse said.

Casey Council, an ELA teacher at Columbia Middle School, said she has seen many of her students gain a much bigger appreciation for school after not being able to attend in-person classes for several months. “Just knowing the importance and value of personal relationships really stands out now,” Council commented.

Council has been teaching students for 19 years and was heartbroken after hearing the news that she would not see her students’ faces in person. She realized the weight that would hold on how some students viewed their schoolwork.

Council, along with the other teachers, has seen a decline in student performance when it comes to some of their learners. “I have students in eighth grade now that I had in seventh grade last year…and I have a handful that do absolutely nothing and I know they are so capable,” Council shared. “It breaks your heart when you know what they are capable of.”

Brickhouse noticed while everyone was learning from home that some students “didn’t apply themselves as much.” What she bears witness to now with this new hybrid learning schedule is those students who perform lower than others have a good support system; they are able to go to their house and make extra phone calls to their educators if need be. However, her “high-flyers” seem to be taking a break.

“We’re trying to do anything and everything we can to instill that sense of community that they so badly need,” Mills said. “Children have lost a lot of time with the reinforcement they need.”

Not only have students lost out on a lot of time, but educators themselves are finding less and less time in the day with all the changes that have been implemented. “It’s really hard to disconnect,” Corbin commented. “I sometimes Google Meet during dinner and FaceTime students late at night. Personal time for myself has been more of an issue now.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has completely altered the life of educators in Tyrrell County. Despite the rapid changes that have come their way, teachers continue to pass along the knowledge they always have and will continue to, whether through a computer screen, Plexiglas or face-to-face. Day or night, they have made their students a first priority while accepting the challenges and moving forward to grow the generation of tomorrow. 

Courtesy Tyrrell County Schools