Teacher's society president says teachers, students, anxious over remote learning

Today teachers are scrambling to put together learning plans that will work for blended classrooms over the next two weeks.

The Manitoba Teacher's Society (MTS) says the next two days will be very busy for teachers with some teachers essentially doubling their workloads, and most need to change their original plans.

"The current plan for January is not exactly one that we planned for," MTS President James Bedford says. He says in Grades 7-12 there are clear plans, but not for lower years. "K-6 is where the confusion lies. In K-6 students may be in school, but they may be learning from home. And that is what causes enormous workload issues."

He says the blended plan creates a lot of work for educators, as opposed to only in-classroom learning or only remote learning.

While Hanover School Division went online for its Grades 7 and up students in November, the rest of the province waited until January. Officials say they were taking advantage of the natural winter break in their decision to move online for two weeks, noting that it could help with case numbers following potential holiday gatherings.

Unlike in the spring of 2020, the online learning directive has been in the works for months. Despite the planning, the latest two-week learning period is shifting due to early years and middle years teachers not knowing what their classrooms would look like until Monday morning.

Bedford is hopeful the two-week remote period will not make a large impact on a student's overall learning but is concerned about the effects if it is longer than two weeks.

"If we go beyond two weeks, I think people are right to start having concerns."

He says because it is the middle of the school year, students have time to do any needed recovery learning.

The key to having a successful two weeks online will be student motivation. Working from home may feel familiar to most students, but last spring's long stretch could create hesitation. Bedford says parent involvement will be important.

"It is eventual that children see the support from home for learning," Bedford says. "I know teachers work really really well to instill the importance of education with the students when they are physically in classrooms and physically in schools. When they are at home, that work devolves a little bit more onto parents."

Bedford says in his experience, parents are extremely supportive.

Another issue that could arise with education at home is access to the internet.

"The system is relying heavily on technology but not everywhere in the province do homes have equal access to that technology. We have high rates of child poverty in this province and not every home has access."

He notes that students and teachers can access the Remote Learning Centre for additional support. If only a couple of students in a classroom are remotely learning, Bedford says they understand the Remote Learning Centre can take over, easing the teacher's workload.

“The goal is to ensure that all students have access to and engage in high-quality learning, regardless of the circumstances posed by COVID-19,” Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen says in a statement.

Bedford says that approximately $100,000 is going towards mental health support but notes that it is not enough.

"Certainly school divisions are putting resources into place to deal with mental health issues because we are certainly discovering those are very, very significant this year, more so than I think any other year."

The centre is set to prioritize students in smaller school divisions and those homeschooling, providing mental health resources, as well as providing support to educators.

Bedford says as the pandemic continues, parents will need to make the learning choices that they are most comfortable with.

"It is difficult. I think parents need to know that teachers have the best interests at heart."

He says schools will need to continue to adapt to assure spaces are physically and mentally safe for students.