New. Di!erent. Better: Teaching in a Pandemic

ABSTRACT

Bradberry focuses on how to teach during the pandemic. Ten days into the dramatic shift to online teaching, public school teachers around Virginia realized that these ten days were going to lead to many more. They immediately began figuring out how to reach out to students who were in their homes, their lives upended. Other areas of the state were already being affected by the virus. Hospitals in Northern Virginia filled, as students learned the new vernacular COVID-19. Coronavirus. Masks. Testing. Social distancing. Quarantine. Students were still hearing the new words from the news. The virus simply wasn't here yet. Spring 2020 was a challenge, but at this point, their community was still safe from the virus, and their students were unaware of its seriousness. Educators face new obstacles of tending to students' social and emotional health as we continue to navigate through the pandemic, yet students are even more prepared for an ever-changing technological world. Teachers appreciate the many parents and community members who supported them throughout the pandemic.