It’s All Online

Every personality-type test I’ve ever taken has labeled me as a helper. That’s probably why I love being a special ed teacher so much. What frustrates me the most is when someone else’s lack of communication or effort makes it difficult or even impossible for me to help my students. 

When I was a special ed teacher in a “regular” school, a big part of my job was making sure that  students could access the general education curriculum. Whatever was going on in their other classrooms, I would figure out ways to make it learnable and accessible (and maybe even enjoyable!) for our kids on IEPs. 

Do you know what is the most useful thing for me when it comes to doing that part of my job? It’s knowing what the other teachers are doing in their classes! Shocking, I know. I can’t change, modify, or adapt anything if I don’t know what the lesson is about, what standard you’re working on, or what you want the kids to know or be able to do. 

This year, being in a hospital setting, when I reach out to schools to get clarity on what students should be working on while they are with me, the answer I get 90% of the time is, “It’s all online.”

Ok, that’s great. Totally awesome. Fabulous. But…

I can’t log in to see any of it.

I can’t see the names of the assignments.

I can’t see what they’ve already turned in.

I can’t print anything for them.

I can’t see the directions on anything. 

I can’t check to see what is missing.

I don’t know where they should start (a certain lesson? a certain date?).

I don’t know if they need a physical textbook or workbook, or if everything is online.

I don’t know if the student who is telling me they are done or there’s nothing there to work on is being truthful (probably not…but I can’t check).

On a daily basis, I will have kids using at least half a dozen different platforms from Schoology to Edgenuity to PowerSchool to Canvas to Google Classroom to Blackboard to a plethora of different strictly-online schools/classes such as North Dakota Center for Distance Education. I’m getting pretty good at maneuvering around in all of those once a student is logged in, but before that I have absolutely no powers. 

So if I reply to your email of “It’s all online,” with, “It would be super helpful if I could get the names of the assignments that you consider top priority,” and you answer back with, “It’s all listed in Schoology,” I will flip a table. 

If you email me something like, “Let me know when she’s done with worksheets 7A and 8Q and then I’ll add this other thing she’ll need to do,” I will punch one of the stuffed hedgehogs in my classroom. Because all I hear is, “I have to add this anyway but I’m not going to pay attention to when that student needs this thing I ALREADY HAVE so now it’s on you.” 

I get frustrated with and for my students who are also confused when all they are told from their teachers is, “It’s all online.” I’ve had countless students tell me, “I don’t know where to start,” or “I don’t understand the directions.” And you know what? I don’t either. I will tell them straight up that I’m 42 years old and almost done with my doctorate and that doesn’t make any sense to me either. 

I will also get emails that say, in their entirety, “We’re on chapter 3.” Cool. Which student are you talking about? What subject do you teach? I will have students from eighteen different schools in my classroom today (I counted). Imma need a little more info, sir. 

I also have students that have been gone from school for so long, they literally have no idea where to start. Many of my students transfer from inpatient to partial hospitalization, so some have been gone from school for a long time before I even get to meet them. I had this situation happen today. I emailed asking for clarity on where to start and was told by teachers that the student was so far behind it was pointless to advise them where to start. Really?! That’s gross and you should be embarrassed you actually wrote that in an email. Help me help them. Please. 

I really don’t mean to sound like I’m complaining. I love my job and my students, and I have plenty of stuff for them to do if they don’t know what they need to do for school. But I also know how stressed they get when they want to get caught up and simply don’t know what to do. I know all teachers are super busy and my email is just one more thing that has to be dealt with, but if you could take one minute and send me a screenshot of missing assignments, I will send you a virtual high-five. If you could compose a somewhat professional email back to me in an effort to assist our student, I will feel warm fuzzies. 

It’s great that it’s all online. Sometimes, though, we need a little more direction to make sure our students are moving in the right direction with their work. Thanks to all those who provide that “little more.”