Clintonville teachers, parents, students adjust to virtual instruction
By Bert Lehman
When the Clintonville School Board met on Sept. 14, middle school Principal Troy Kuhn updated them on virtual learning and the challenges it presents.
Kuhn said the majority of the teaching staff liked the slow start to the school year. Even without COVID-19, Kuhn said teachers are interested in doing a slow start to the school year in future years.
“Something maybe to be considered for future years, if that’s a possibility,” Kuhn said.
He noted that most of the school staff wants to see the students every day, adding that they indicated their biggest challenge is the virtual learning days.
Even though school staff want to see students every day, personal health and safety is also a concern of school staff, Kuhn said.
“But they are continuing to come to work everyday unless they’re told they can’t,” Kuhn said. “They are doing a great job with that.”
Parents’ concerns
Regarding comments he has received from parents, he said around five parents have requested more schoolwork for their children.
“I’ve received phone calls saying, ‘You need to send more work, especially on those virtual days. My kids are bored at home,’” Kuhn said. “My response to them right now is, wait until week three, until we have a normal week with that virtual day, so that will give the teachers time to prep. But I can’t guarantee that, we’re all new at this.”
Kuhn said some parents feel overwhelmed, and don’t know what to do with their kids on virtual days.
He said the two parents he spoke to who felt overwhelmed, their kids are being taught 100% virtually, and don’t have any in-person learning.
“They didn’t have the face-to-face time with the teachers to learn the expectations of how to hand assignments in, what to do in case this happens, etc.,” Kuhn said. “So, a lot of the communication is through email.”
Kuhn said he will communicate with the teaching staff to make sure they communicate on virtual days with the families who have elected to have their kids taught 100% virtually to make sure they are not encountering any problems to their specific class.
Kuhn told the board that he is not requiring his teaching staff to have a live feed for every single class, adding that students should have the option to join in via a live stream during the discussion of important topics or reviewing for a test.
He said some parents are concerned their kids aren’t getting enough education because of the lack of live streaming.
“There are some parents that want their kids sitting in front of that Chromebook six hours a day, and when that teacher is talking, they want to hear that teacher talk,” Kuhn said.
He admitted that the school district is lacking at the present time in regards to teaching the students who are 100% virtual learning.
Classes that require hands-on learning are the most difficult to teach virtually, Kuhn said.
Another issue for the district is the lack of substitute teachers. Kuhn said due to this shortage, other teachers have to fill in, and as a result, those teachers lose the time allocated to them for prepare to teach students learning virtually.