It has been approximately one month since Pinewood’s first full day of hybrid instruction. The past month has entailed a dramatic increase in workload for teachers, who have had to adopt new teaching methods. Teachers and students alike have had to deal with the added challenge of staying safe while on campus.
Upper Campus Assistant Principal Haley Hemm said the teacher workload has been like nothing many have ever experienced.
“The challenge hybrid presents is for teachers to adapt to this new pedagogy. The amount of lesson planning and grading is insane, and as a former teacher, grading was my least favorite part of the experience,” Hemm said.
World History teacher Kerry Trainor said that hybrid learning has impacted his teaching and his classroom settings.
“My workload has definitely at least doubled... however, our goal to begin with was to get back to a productive learning environment and I’m happy we’ve achieved that,” Trainor said.
Trainor encourages students to be open with their teachers about what is and is not working throughout the transition to being on-campus.
“To [all students] I say this: keep exercising patience with [the teachers]. We are in uncharted waters and mistakes are inevitable. All feedback will be greatly appreciated,” Trainor said.
“Keep exercising patience with [the teachers]. We are in uncharted waters and mistakes are inevitable. All feedback will be greatly appreciated.”
The tremendous amount of work the administration and faculty has been putting in hasn’t been for naught. Students have been given more opportunities to seek help from their teachers and to interact with their peers while also following safety regulations and maintaining a safe environment.
Math teacher Sara Dorset appreciates all the work the administration has put into making hybrid work.
“The school has done a great job with safety. I appreciate that Pinewood brought in [teachers’ assistants] to uphold these safety measures during breaks and lunch, and I also think the maintenance team has done a phenomenal job with sanitizing,” Dorset said.
In order to proceed safely with hybrid learning, students and faculty need to continue to follow protective measures.
“People think what they’re doing is safe, so it’s important to clarify what is right and what is wrong by the county’s standards. I think that’s my most important job.”
“People think what they’re doing is safe, so it’s important to clarify what is right and what is wrong by the county’s standards. I think that’s my most important job,” Hemm said.
Despite the additional work, being back on campus has provided students and faculty with a sense of normalcy that was hard to replicate in a fully remote learning environment.
“Things like getting to play ping-pong with the 7th graders during break or being able to throw a football with Myles Fox brightens my day and makes me forget about the chaos the pandemic has caused,” Hemm said.