What Lessons Will Students Learn from Reduced Class Time?
2021-02-21
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1Most public high school teachers in the United States never expected a school year like the current one.
2School buildings closed across the country in March of 2020.
3Education went online and distance learning has continued since.
4Teachers around the country quickly found they would not be able to teach as much material as usual to their students.
5The educators had to make choices about what content to cover and what could be dropped.
6So, over time, English teachers began cutting some books and writing projects from their teaching plans.
7History teachers began to shrink their coverage of some periods.
8Science teachers had to remove experiment-based work because school laboratories were no longer available.
9While some students were able to keep up with their studies while working from home, many struggled without being at school.
10In the current school year, many teachers have not even met their students in person.
11Alison Reeves is a Spanish teacher at a high school in Fairfax, Virginia, about 30 kilometers outside of Washington, D.C.
12She said by this time in a school year, she usually knows her students well.
13But this year is different.
14"I have gotten a good sense of who they are, but you learn different things virtually. I know their voices when they answer questions, but I don't know what their face looks like, per se."
15She said distance learning is especially difficult for students in language classes.
16At the start of a normal school year, she explained, some students can be shy about saying a word incorrectly in front of their friends.
17But after a while, they understand everyone in the class is learning a new language.
18At that point, they are not shy anymore.
19But at home, Reeves said, the students are shyer.
20They worry about making mistakes in front of their parents.
21Because of this, Reeves said, she has made speaking less of a priority this year than in past years.
22She is more centered on helping her students learn to write in Spanish.
23In addition, she usually has her students learning two different past tenses by now.
24This year she has centered more on the present tense.
25Reeves is not the only teacher changing her teaching plan.
26Tassie Zahner teaches Advanced Placement U.S. History at a high school in Silver Spring, Maryland, about 15 kilometers from Washington, D.C.
27She has been teaching for almost 10 years.
28At the end of the school year, her students take a national history test.
29Colleges use the scores to help make admissions decisions.
30Zahner cut how much time she spends on different parts of American history.
31For example, she usually spends 18 class periods teaching about the last part of the 19th century.
32That takes over three weeks.
33This year, she did it in four hours.
34As a result, she thinks some of her students' test scores will not show their true ability.
35Zahner said the leaders of her school are not that worried about the test scores this year.
36But her students are.
37"I have students who want that score on the exam. They do care very much. And not being able to give them the same kind of information and the same rigor that we do in the real classroom has been very difficult for me and for them."
38Jake Stanford teaches English at Palm Springs High School in California.
39He has been teaching for 13 years.
40His school changed its schedule because of the pandemic.
41That greatly affected writing projects he would normally give his students.
42The writing projects require a lot of time.
43Students write and rewrite a paper several times before they are finished.
44Stanford said he normally asks students to write 24 papers over the year.
45But, not this year.
46"It's just not been realistic to try to expect that. And I have not been able to. And I think that's what I've been hearing from colleagues as well."
47Stanford said his students will do half the usual number of writing projects.
48Cristin Espinoza teaches English in Denver, Colorado.
49She said she had to remove some of her favorite projects from her teaching plan this year.
50Class time used to be 90 minutes long, she said.
51Now she sees her students for about 20 minutes each class.
52Some teachers, however, are also reporting educational successes within the new structure.
53Jake Stanford said some of his students are performing better than in the past.
54Due to the coronavirus health crisis, they don't have as many other things going on.
55"They are absorbing material and gaining a higher level of skill very, very quickly."
56Alison Reeves said she hopes colleges will consider the pandemic's effects on high school education when they make admissions decisions.
57She is hopeful about the future for students, overall, even with less teaching time and subject coverage.
58They are learning how to deal with difficult educational conditions.
59"That truly," she said, "will take you much further than a lot of the content."
60Tassie Zahner expressed similar thinking.
61"We have students at my school that are working and helping support their families and taking care of multi-generational households, and still showing up every day and going to class and doing their work. That's impressive."
62I'm Dan Friedell.
1Most public high school teachers in the United States never expected a school year like the current one. School buildings closed across the country in March of 2020. Education went online and distance learning has continued since. 2Teachers around the country quickly found they would not be able to teach as much material as usual to their students. The educators had to make choices about what content to cover and what could be dropped. 3So, over time, English teachers began cutting some books and writing projects from their teaching plans. 4History teachers began to shrink their coverage of some periods. 5Science teachers had to remove experiment-based work because school laboratories were no longer available. 6While some students were able to keep up with their studies while working from home, many struggled without being at school. In the current school year, many teachers have not even met their students in person. 7Alison Reeves is a Spanish teacher at a high school in Fairfax, Virginia, about 30 kilometers outside of Washington, D.C. She said by this time in a school year, she usually knows her students well. But this year is different. 8"I have gotten a good sense of who they are, but you learn different things virtually. I know their voices when they answer questions, but I don't know what their face looks like, per se." 9She said distance learning is especially difficult for students in language classes. 10At the start of a normal school year, she explained, some students can be shy about saying a word incorrectly in front of their friends. But after a while, they understand everyone in the class is learning a new language. At that point, they are not shy anymore. 11But at home, Reeves said, the students are shyer. They worry about making mistakes in front of their parents. 12Because of this, Reeves said, she has made speaking less of a priority this year than in past years. She is more centered on helping her students learn to write in Spanish. In addition, she usually has her students learning two different past tenses by now. This year she has centered more on the present tense. 13Reeves is not the only teacher changing her teaching plan. 14Tassie Zahner teaches Advanced Placement U.S. History at a high school in Silver Spring, Maryland, about 15 kilometers from Washington, D.C. She has been teaching for almost 10 years. 15At the end of the school year, her students take a national history test. Colleges use the scores to help make admissions decisions. 16Zahner cut how much time she spends on different parts of American history. For example, she usually spends 18 class periods teaching about the last part of the 19th century. That takes over three weeks. This year, she did it in four hours. 17As a result, she thinks some of her students' test scores will not show their true ability. Zahner said the leaders of her school are not that worried about the test scores this year. But her students are. 18"I have students who want that score on the exam. They do care very much. And not being able to give them the same kind of information and the same rigor that we do in the real classroom has been very difficult for me and for them." 19Jake Stanford teaches English at Palm Springs High School in California. He has been teaching for 13 years. His school changed its schedule because of the pandemic. 20That greatly affected writing projects he would normally give his students. 21The writing projects require a lot of time. Students write and rewrite a paper several times before they are finished. Stanford said he normally asks students to write 24 papers over the year. But, not this year. 22"It's just not been realistic to try to expect that. And I have not been able to. And I think that's what I've been hearing from colleagues as well." 23Stanford said his students will do half the usual number of writing projects. 24Cristin Espinoza teaches English in Denver, Colorado. She said she had to remove some of her favorite projects from her teaching plan this year. Class time used to be 90 minutes long, she said. Now she sees her students for about 20 minutes each class. 25Some teachers, however, are also reporting educational successes within the new structure. Jake Stanford said some of his students are performing better than in the past. Due to the coronavirus health crisis, they don't have as many other things going on. 26"They are absorbing material and gaining a higher level of skill very, very quickly." 27Alison Reeves said she hopes colleges will consider the pandemic's effects on high school education when they make admissions decisions. 28She is hopeful about the future for students, overall, even with less teaching time and subject coverage. They are learning how to deal with difficult educational conditions. "That truly," she said, "will take you much further than a lot of the content." 29Tassie Zahner expressed similar thinking. 30"We have students at my school that are working and helping support their families and taking care of multi-generational households, and still showing up every day and going to class and doing their work. That's impressive." 31I'm Dan Friedell. 32Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. The Associated Press's Michael Melia contributed to this report. Caty Weaver was the editor. 33What topic would you cut from your curriculum in a pandemic? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 34_______________________________________________________________ 35Words in This Story 36virtual- adj. existing or occurring on computers or on the Internet 37shy- adj. tending to avoid something because of nervousness, fear, dislike, etc. 38per se- adv. by, of, or in itself - used to indicate that something is being considered by itself and not along with other things 39rigor- n. the quality or state of being very exact, careful, or strict 40schedule- n. a plan of things that will be done and the times when they will be done 41colleague- n. a person who works with you : a fellow worker 42absorb- v. to learn (something) 43impressive- adj. deserving attention, admiration, or respect : making a good impression