My parents were both teachers. Seeing what they did firsthand made me realize that teachers need to be protected — especially those who deal with younger students. For one, my mom — who was a first grade teacher — always brought work home with her, and papers to grade. But she also taught every moment she could. When we played together, there was often a lesson to be learned. And when she hosted birthday parties, she acted just as if she were in front of her classroom. When she was around young minds, she was in her element.
The interesting thing about teachers is that most of them have had a passion to teach since they were very young. They were built to present new ideas to younger minds. Teachers have also watched the curriculum change so much in the past years. And this year, they're going through their biggest struggle of all. Can they still be as effective if their classroom is virtual? Will the kids still be as eager to learn?
Janet Udomratsak is taking digital learning to the next level. Not only has she been prepping for her class, but she's also prepping for her second child. While Janet is in front of a computer pregnant, that computer is located in the hospital. Even during bed rest, she's dedicated to making this educational year work.
Janet Udomratsak is actually known best as Mrs. O to her third grade students at Tierra Bonita Elementary School in Lancaster, California. While her students likely knew that the 2020-2021 school year would be different, it must be a completely intriguing vibe being taught out of a hospital. However, Janet still seems very confident about her class.
Janet's hospitalization for this pregnancy will last for seven weeks. So in a way, it's possible that teaching the class helps her take her mind off of eventually going through labor. It's definitely proof that remote education can happen anywhere. Based on Wi-Fi connections, it's also possible her students are logging in from places other than their homes.
She's been teaching for 11 years. But this year will likely be one of the most memorable. "Honestly, being in the hospital to me, in this setting, almost feels no different than if I were at home," she told WMBF News. "The only difference is that yes, I am in the hospital."
She knows how important the beginning of the school year is. Not only is it an exciting time for students, but it's also when teachers to really get to know their class. "In the beginning of the school year, that's when you build your relationship with your students, and I didn't want to miss that opportunity," she said.
When she learned she'd have to take it easy for this pregnancy, she thought that distance learning might actually be the perfect way to rest yet still feel productive. "My love of teaching, for the kids and building that relationship is so much stronger than me just wanting to sit and do nothing," she said. "Obviously, that would be the life: to just take it all in and relax and not have to work. I would love doing that, but my desire is to be with the students."
Not only did Eastside Union School District have to approve her situation, so did the hospital. Luckily, both gave her the OK to continue forward with her plan. If you've ever been in a hospital before, you know that nurses are often in and out of the room. However, the ones working with Janet know that there's a slightly different protocol.
"I just review all of her monitoring on the computer, and then, I come in and talk to her once a day or whoever the rounding doctor is. We all kind of know that she's teaching and doing her thing, and we try to stay out of her way, except for when we have to come in and do the monitoring we need to do," her doctor told WMBF. Surely, it's an interesting change of pace for the hospital staff.
Despite being thankful that she has something to do, it's obvious that Janet has a big heart. She knows this year is going to be extra tough for her students, but she really wanted to be there for them. Janet, very obviously, is one of those special teachers who knew this was her natural calling.
"It's something that is new for all of us, and I want to show them that I am there with them," she said. "The struggle is real for me as a teacher, it's real for them as the students and really, that we are all in it together," she said. For those outside of her California school district, it's a reminder that as humans, we're all trying to adapt to this together.
In general, this school year has been like nothing we've seen before. Some schools are opening their buildings but limiting the amount of children per classroom. Others are going fully remote. Throughout the United States, this educational year looks very different. And some parents are nervous about whether or not it'll work.
Some parents have even taken matters into their own hands, forming "pods" with other trusted neighborhood families. Each pod has one teacher, or perhaps a rotating parent who is able to help, thus keeping the kids relatively safe and helping parents work education into their work schedule. But even a situation like this is new.
In West Warwick, Rhode Island, a distance learning camp has been set up. It was created by Michael Cellucci, who owns a martial arts studio, at the request of working parents not knowing how to also educate their children. "It's going to be second grade and up," he told ABC6. "The big thing is we need kids that can read most of their directions."
That said, an arrangement like this wouldn't have flown just a few years ago. Michael and his staff aren't teachers, or even tutors. They have no credits toward their name in these fields. However, they're there to help kids with the distance learning aspect. They won't teach, but they'll help moderate.
So whether school is happening in a hospital room or a martial arts studio, it's simply the way of the world today. When it comes to education, our communities need to bond together and take care of it as a whole. But for the brave teachers who try to instruct their class the old-fashioned way, hopefully they start feeling comfortable with the arrangement. Nobody could have guessed that the situation would still be so dire all these months later.
