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How the Camera Has Changed the Dynamics of the Classroom
From concerns about surveillance to the blurring of spaces, it is evident now that the virus has changed more than our physiologies.
A video conference on a laptop. Photo: Gabriel Benois/Unsplash
Education6 hours ago
Over the past year of online teaching, instructors and students have struggled, not just with the digital divide but with a tense binary: online classroom work
versus privacy violation.
Academic Practice in Ecology and Evolution found that some students felt it was a violation of privacy (because their personal settings, their homes and family were visible), possible distraction when watching others on screen, self-consciousness, among others. Class, race, ethnicity and appearance were factors in their reluctance, the study found. Another report by Margaret Finders and Joaquin Muñoz, deemed the practice of asking students to turn on the cameras to be a form of surveillance. (Although it seems odd that for a generation of Instagrammers and Facebookers, the camera, of all things, is a source of anxiety!)

If local unions heed her call, it would be seen as a major stride in the effort to reopen schools. Teachers unions have been blamed for slowing the process with demands for a variety of safety measures. Teachers in some districts have refused to return until ventilations systems are updated, virus tests are given and all teachers are vaccinated.
Weingarten said vaccines have been the decisive factor in her vision for a fall reopening. President Joe Biden in March ordered states to prioritize teachers in vaccination rollouts, and by the end of that month, federal health officials said 80% of school workers had been given their first shot.

During a stop in Hampton Roads Monday, President Biden spoke about his education plan to help feed students at school. Biden said his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan could benefit children in our area.

Winter chills still some time off.

When a middle school teacher shared with his class that he hadn't eaten that morning, his class stepped up, albeit with some sugary treats.

Matua and whaea victory: All teachers can choose te reo classroom titles, Ministry of Education declares
26 Apr, 2021 10:50 PM
3 minutes to read
Rangi Mitchell and Arihi Hutana said they are pleased Clive School are now letting teachers be referred to as matua and whaea. Photo / Warren Buckland
Rangi Mitchell and Arihi Hutana said they are pleased Clive School are now letting teachers be referred to as matua and whaea. Photo / Warren Buckland
New Zealand teachers who want to use the titles matua and whaea in the classroom instead of Mr and Miss have been given the green light to do so by the Ministry of Education.

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Mumbai, April 27 (IANS) Actor Anupam Kher says he makes sure to approach every new project with a clean slate. With his experience, he adds, it is easy to feel like he knows it all, but he makes sure to always learn as much as he can.
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Update: 27-April-2021

and last updated 2021-04-26 07:43:34-04
MARYLAND — As more students head back into the classroom, we're seeing more outbreaks in schools. Since the state began tracking numbers in October of 2020, there have been outbreaks at 216 Maryland schools.
There are three levels of what the state considers an outbreak. There are two cases related to each other, at least three classrooms/cohorts with cases from separate households or at least five percent of the entire school population has confirmed COVID-19 within a 14-day period.
The 43 schools on the list have at least two confirmed cases, that can be either a student or staff member. Even though it's a small portion of people who actually tested positive for the coronavirus, everyone who's in their classroom/cohort has to quarantine for two weeks. So much more of the school is back to virtual learning. The school is removed from the outbreak list on the Maryland Department of Health's website once health officials confirm the 14-day quarantine passed with no new cases or pending results.

Ann Arbor Public Schools pushes back return due to rise in local COVID cases
Meredith Bruckner, Community News Producer, All About Ann Arbor
Published: 
Updated: 
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A classroom desk with school books (WDIV)
ANN ARBOR – Ann Arbor Public Schools announced on Thursday that it plans to delay the return to school buildings for students in grades 4-12 due to rising COVID cases in Washtenaw County.
This is the second time the district is pushing back its return date for fourth- and fifth-graders, middle and high school students over community spread concerns.
“Since our update last Tuesday, the rapid and significant rise in the level of COVID cases in Washtenaw County continues,” Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift wrote in an email to families. “Current COVID levels are the highest we have witnessed at any time during this pandemic.

Sexual consent will be taught to children as young as 14 under new “respectful relationship” lessons to tackle abuse.

APS reflects on pros, cons of first week back to in-person learning
Leading up to the first week of in-person classes, Albuquerque Public School’s district leaders said they planned for different problems they could face, but there were some issues that just can't be avoided.
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Updated: 9:25 PM MDT Apr 12, 2021
APS reflects on pros, cons of first week back to in-person learning
Leading up to the first week of in-person classes, Albuquerque Public School’s district leaders said they planned for different problems they could face, but there were some issues that just can't be avoided.
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Updated: 9:25 PM MDT Apr 12, 2021

Education
by Natasha Bita
Premium Content
 
Sexual consent will be taught to children as young as 14 while primary school kids will learn about violence against women under new "respectful relationship" lessons to tackle sexual assaults among school students.
More than 350 videos, digital stories, podcasts and other lesson materials will be available free to teachers, students and families through The Good Society website, as part of the Respect Matters program.
Kids as young as four will learn about empathy, peer pressure, interacting respectfully and "challenging discriminatory behaviour", in lessons for primary school students.
High school students in years 7 to 9 will learn about "relationships and power, and abuse".

Have your kids returned back to school?

Concerned students, parents and community members organize outside the Chesterton Middle School auditorium entrance ahead of the school board's meeting after learning Pride flags were asked to be removed from a classroom at the school.
Concerned students, parents and community members organize outside the Chesterton Middle School auditorium entrance ahead of the school board's meeting after learning Pride flags were asked to be removed from a classroom at the school.
CHESTERTON — Milissa Beale said her 13-year-old daughter, Mila, came home upset recently after learning that an English teacher at the middle school had been required to remove gay and trans-positive flags from her classroom, as well as a Black Lives Matter poster.

FROM STAFF REPORTS
HICKORY — With the challenges in the classroom brought on by COVID-19, Catawba Valley Community College Electrical Systems Technology instructor Ramie Robinson knew he had to adapt to help provide his students a quality learning experience.
“We had to make their time in person as meaningful and productive as possible,” Robinson said. “They were in person and online every other day. We were limited in here in the classroom. We couldn’t double up trainers or work stations in here because of maintaining our six feet of distance. Students also couldn’t share tools and equipment.”
Robinson, who had previous experience working with Alexander County’s Habitat for Humanity, reached out to the group to see about involving his students with hands-on experience while giving back to the community.

Johnson City Schools plans to officially transition to two middle schools serving grades 6-8 on Aug. 3, 2022, a change that school officials expect will help alleviate overcrowding.
“It seems like quite a ways off, but it’ll be here before we know it,” Todd Barnett, the system’s middle grades supervisor, told members of the Johnson City Board of Education on Monday evening. “There’s a lot of people doing a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes to make sure this happens successfully and we do things right by our students and by our community.”
Currently, students in the city system attend Indian Trail Intermediate School for grades 5 and 6 before moving to Liberty Bell Middle School for grades 7 and 8.

The head of the House Education Committee wants the Department of Education to turn loose $85 million to help forestall anticipated teacher layoffs.

BOONE COUNTY- On Tuesday's general municipal election ballot, some Boone County residents will vote on whether to approve a $7.7 million bond issue for the Southern Boone School District. 
The district would add 28,000 square feet of instructional space and renovate the existing two buildings if the vote passes.
It is a no tax-rate bond, meaning residents of the Southern Boone County District will not see a tax increase if it were to pass.
"It should be something that passes pretty easily, but I don't want to take anything for granted ever," Southern Boone Superintendent Chris Felmlee said.
Felmlee said fifth graders would be moved from the elementary school to the middle school by September 2022 if the bond passes.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) and the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) have released updates to the state’s flagship Healthy at School guidance based on the latest guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The updates, which can be found throughout the document, say schools may decrease the distance between students from 6 feet to 3 feet in classrooms if everyone is masked. Students still must maintain a 6-foot distance in common areas such as the gym, cafeteria and auditoriums, while singing, and during activities such as band, sports and other exercise. These activities should be moved to outdoor or large, well-ventilated spaces if possible.

April 5, 2021
April 5, 2021
SHOW TRANSCRIPT

It's unlikely Andover High School students will return to full in-person learning this year.
Assistant Superintendent Sandra Trach told the School Committee Thursday that district officials were preparing a waiver to ask the state if high school students will be mandated to go back before the end of the year.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has mandated elementary students return five days a week starting Monday, April 5 and middle school students return Wednesday, April 28. Andover officials are on target to meet those deadlines, Superintendent Claudia Bach said. 
The largest issue with returning all Andover students to classrooms full-time comes from the already overcrowded high school. The school was built in the 1960s with the intended maximum capacity of 1,500 students. However, there are about 1,800 students currently enrolled.

Amy: My husband and I recently welcomed our first child.
On my side of the extended family, our baby son (“Samuel”) is the fifth grandchild, but on my husband’s side, he is the first.
I am trying to be sensitive to the excitement and extra attention a first grandchild receives.
My mother-in-law, “Joan,” has been to our house for a visit of a week’s duration each month since Sam’s birth. Each time she visits, I am more hesitant to welcome her back.
Joan is blatantly disregarding the parenting strategy my husband and I have adopted in favor of her own techniques. She does this against our specific instructions and without discussion.