The Editorial Board thanks teachers for their perseverance during the pandemic

With schools reopening, we would like to acknowledge teachers’ flexibility and dedication under unprecedented circumstances

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

From learning our ABCs in kindergarten to studying integrals in high school, teachers shape our lives—whether we realize it or not. And even during a normal year, teachers have to deal with unresponsive students, pushy parents, a lack of funding and the list goes on, in addition to being underpaid.

These problems are only made astronomically more difficult when teaching over Zoom. Online learning has also created a host of other issues including more work for teachers and parents. Battling Zoom fatigue and student disengagement, many teachers have dedicated hours and hours to create a virtual curriculum that works for their students and to ensure that all students are getting some level of pandemic-style instruction.

Other educators have been working in person during the pandemic before even receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, putting their lives at risk in order to provide a high level of education to their students. The members of the Editorial Board would like to thank teachers everywhere for their dedication and resilience during this incredibly challenging time for education.

Throughout the pandemic, teachers have received immense pressure from parents and community leaders to return to teaching in person. The school reopening process has been stressful for all involved, and it has taken a great amount of time and effort to be able to reopen schools. Locally in the Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD), in-person instruction will resume five days a week starting April 12.

We would like to thank all teachers, including those in the DJUSD, that are returning to educate students in person. In-person education is essential at a young age for academic and social growth. Interactions with peers as well as in-class, hands-on experiences are fundamental to a child’s education.

As college students, we can definitively say that the teachers that we had at a young age had a significant impact not only on our academic careers but also in our personal development. We still have fond memories of our teachers who gave us so much essential knowledge such as how to read and write—skills that literally allow us to write this editorial today. Through organizing activities such as puppet shows of historical figures or teaching students the value of money through rewarding them with plastic pennies, passionate teachers found creative ways to impart important academic and life lessons.

Considering the incredible power of teachers to educate and inspire future generations and the care and effort many bring to their work, teaching is a greatly undervalued profession in our society. Concerningly, fewer people want to pursue the profession after seeing the turmoil the pandemic has caused, and teaching programs have seen a decline in enrollment numbers. We hope this relatively short-term impact will not continue to affect students’ long-term career ambitions, as public education is such a necessary service.

More than a year into the pandemic, the Editorial Board is amazed by the adaptability and dedication of educators who have persevered through immensely challenging circumstances. To all the teachers who logged into Zoom every day with an energetic smile after spending hours the night before on lesson planning and to all of the educators who are resuming in-person instruction: Thank you.

Written by: The Editorial Board