By: Megan Yang
VUSD Elementary schools return to in person learning. Teachers and grades preschool-fourth have returned to the classrooms, while some students chose to do the distance learning.
Gail Laney, a kindergarten teacher at Willow Glen Elementary School, says, “Since students have returned to school, it has been great.” Seeing the students has brought Laney’s “joy for teaching back” and the students “love… being able to socialize with new friends.” Before everything changed with distance learning and Covid-19, Laney “didn’t appreciate having the students in [her] classroom as much as [she] does now.”
The students make sure to follow directions when Laney asks them to “pull their mask up or to spread out a little bit.” Laney has to remain 6 feet apart from the students and make sure that they have all the materials that are needed for the day. Students are “not able to work in small groups” and Laney can “only work with one student” for a short amount of time.
Teaching online is still “very hard” for Laney. She is “not sure what the students know” and it is difficult to “[try keeping] the attention of a 5-6 year old.” In person learning “helps”, but the time she has with her students is short, “so it is difficult to cover everything.”
Laney says she is “trying to keep the academics the same between in person and online learning.” There are some things that happen differently because of the “different dynamics of the classes.” Laney has adjusted to the online and in person learning, but “enjoys the in person more.”
Thomas Bair, a 3rd grade teacher at Willow Glen Elementary School, says, “… I think the return of students has been positive.” Having the kids in front of Bair “feels so much better” than seeing them through a computer screen. There hasn’t been any issues because of the “strict protocols in place to keep everyone safe.” Bair says, “As long as everyone follows the guidelines, we may just be able to make this work.”
Bair says that “in person learning is far more powerful than distance learning.” Students are more social and “being a teacher has always been about personal interaction.” When the students are online “it’s like a huge piece is missing from the puzzle,” Bair says.
Distance learning has been the “most frustrating experience” Bair has had in his 25 years of teaching. In person, you get to know “the 3D version of the [student], instead of the cyber student.” Bair “really likes this schedule” because he gets to “feel like [he is] teaching, instead of having [his] face in front of a screen.” Bair’s in person class size is smaller, so “more learning can happen and [their] time can be spent more wisely.”
Megan Yang
Megan Yang ('24) is in her 4th year of Journalism. She is a writer and editor for the News section and enjoys writing for the Redwood Gigantea.