By Eric Cox
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
On a Wednesday afternoon, the school grounds at Windsor Mill Middle are far quieter than they used to be, and school hallways are unnervingly silent.
Students and teachers are replaced today by two lunch ladies handing out bagged lunches for student pick-up. It’s an accommodation Baltimore County schools are using to assist students families, and an example of the creative solutions schools are using to address pandemic-related problems.
Tammy Hough, the Guidance Registrar at Windsor Mill Middle School is one of the many who believe schools are doing their best in unexpected circumstances, and they are not worried about replacing in-person classes with online learning.
Dressed a bit more casually than she would in normal circumstances, Hough wears more sweats and fewer button-ups, an unexpected luxury of online schooling. Hough knows the district is gathering information on what works best for students, “because it’s always students first,” Hough said.
Hough said setting expectations for students can help alleviate possible distractions and establishing a mutual understanding with students can aid them.
“Give them expectations. Let them know when class starts. That they need to be here, focused, and engaged,” she said. “The only real distraction I’ve heard about is with cell phones, but you’d have that anyway if they were here in the building. And it gets addressed with a call home to parents, that it’s unacceptable during instruction.”
Hough is not alone in her assessment.
“Human beings, whether adults or teenagers lose attention quickly. In a virtual environment, if teachers do not engage with students in a lesson, I think students will struggle.” Western School of Technology and Environmental Science teacher, Patrick Dobmeier said.
No two students at any school are the same. Given that, few students will handle the transition to online schooling in a similar fashion. To combat, Hough and Dobmeier would ask other teachers to empathize even more so with students.
“You have to establish a relationship with your students, getting to know and understand your students,” Hough said. “They’re not alike and don’t come from the same type of homes. So, it’s understanding that child, being vigilant, looking and seeing that they may have a need and then doing what you can to best help that student.”
A similar sentiment is being shared by high school teachers.
“We’ve been encouraged to be empathic,” Dobmeier said. “Teachers must be flexible to accommodate the different situations students face.”
On Monday, August 24, Zoom suffered major outages on the first day of many virtual classes, going down for hours. These outages can cause frustration for all involved parties, but those that are not as computer savvy may have a harder time adjusting.
Hough reported an instance where a grandparent, who looks after their grandchild while their parent is at work during virtual school hours, as stating they’re “old and don’t know nothin ‘bout this online stuff,” she said. “Another Mom said, literally I’m [computer] illiterate and my older child that usually helps went off to college this year. “I think that’s the biggest frustration.”
Parents are not the only ones dealing with struggles during this transition to online learning, said Ronnell Carey, Academic Advisor at the Community College of Baltimore County.
“The people it hit most are my folk, the old folks. Working online, we’re lost,” Carey said, sitting up in his chair and reiterating that these are his thoughts, not the school’s. “As staff it hurt me because I had never worked solely on a computer. I had to buy a laptop for at home.”
Carey said students are better suited for the circumstances.
“I think students are making the adjustment, but there’s a period of time needed as this is new territory for us all,” Carey said.
With the right accommodations made, Carey said encouraging thoughts that maybe online school and work could become more commonplace.
“I think we’re all learning from this and maybe this could be welcomed in the future.” Carey said, “The trick is being nimble and adjusting.”
Photo of Tammy Hough came from her Facebook page. Used with permission.
Photo of Patrick Dobmeier was provided by Dobmeier and used with permission.