Who Run the World? Teachers
Story/C.Mendoza Page editor/C.Mendoza
While in a pandemic, Des Moines teachers and students are facing battles with Online Learning. Could the Hybrid model be worth it or is it dangerous? A poster sign on a car that shows Reynold’s “Report Card “that she failed to Lead, Serve and Protect her people in a pandemic. This was during the “Drives for Lives” protest on July 24.
Special Education teacher Megan Geha from East High School located in Des Moines, Iowa , is demonstrating her wearing the appropriate and safe gear during a global pandemic. Living in a pandemic has been a struggle, especially for those in need. More than 500 cases of COVID-19 spread each day across Iowa. On July 17, Governor Kim Reynolds announced that all students in Iowa must return to in person learning 50 percent of the time. “The expectation is, especially with core subjects, that over 50 percent of those subjects be offered in the school building”. “It made me frustrated and upset because she was taking the autonomy from the district and districts have been given deadlines to get plans for in person, hybrid and virtual,” Special Education teacher Megan Geha said. Geha has been a Special Education teacher at East High School for seven years. She is the Dream to Teach advisor for East and co-advisor for Student Against the Camps. Due to Geha’s medical condition, she will be teaching at home all school year. “I believe that school should remain in an online setting until the spread of COVID-19 is under control in our state,” Geha said. On July 24, hundreds of teachers in Iowa gathered in the East High School parking lot for a “Drive for Lives” protest. Teachers from central Iowa came together to find a way to protest that it is not safe to return to school during a pandemic. With the concerns of their own safety, they decided it was best to do a drive by protest. There were more than six hundred teachers. Teachers have not been credited for the work they for to their students, and now, during a pandemic it seems like Reynolds is okay with increasing the COVID-19 cases and having the
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teachers risk their own lives to ensure the students are in school instead of being home and safe without having the parents to worry. “As a teacher, it is a lot more work. I truly believe students should not be forced to have their cameras on, I believe that 100 percent. However, the flip side is that I cannot read body language, I can’t see if they’re paying attention or off playing the game. I am talking to a bunch of circles with the initials which is frustrating. That’s been hard for me, I invite kids to turn their cameras on,” Geha said. Virtual learning goes different ways as Geha commented, teachers cannot read students= body language since cameras are not forced to be turned on during class. It is also some of the teachers first year using the Canvas and Teams app, so it is difficult for them at times. Having to manage being a parent at home and a teacher, it can be a lot of work for them. As a student, it is important to let the teachers breathe, they are learning just like the students while doing online. “Kids are much more accessible; I can contact them, or they can contact me. I have also heard this from other teachers, but attendance has been so great. For the most part most students want to be here, and they missed it which is nice,” Geha said. DMPS students sit for a few hours on a screen listening to the teachers speak. Most students do not ask questions, but it has been that way when they were in school. Others just feel relieved they do not need to be seen in person. “I think it is way better for the students’ mental health. They do not feel like they need to look or act a certain way and be comfortable in
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Photos/M.Geha
school,” junior Makaya Meyer said. Students in high school tend to feel like they need to “fit in” rather than being themselves. But now, it is easier for them to feel like they do not have to worry about how they look or what they are wearing, Now, virtually, some students do not take it to learn, just the matter of turning in the assignments on time. It has caused stress for the students and teachers. “Teachers kind of just tell us what we are going to do. They go over it [the class subject lesson] once and then throw assignments in our face. It could be different for everyone, but I personally learn better in person. I feel like I have not learned much,” junior Alyssa Perez said. Online school is different for all students, several enjoy it because it is easier and some just feel stressed to turn in assignments. Term one for is nine weeks long, which means there is more work for the students. Junior and senior year is not an easy year, especially building up with AP classes and catching up with school activities. To students it seems odd that they are being assigned with a lot of homework than when they went to school. However, everyone deals with it differently. But for some students, they would rather do online school than risk themselves or family members getting COVID-19. “I think going back may be helpful to some kids with learning disabilities, but it is not worth the risk of having an extreme rise in COVID-19 cases. Many kids will refuse to wear their masks or not take proper precautions to keep everyone
