Pulled in Two Directions

Mr. Hartfield is a 2nd grade teacher at a suburban elementary school in Arizona. When COVID emerged in spring of 2020, district leaders decided to close the schools and move instruction online. With no prior virtual teaching experience or training, and limited engagement from students, Mr. Hartfield found online instruction lacking.

Five students just disappeared for the rest of the year, essentially. Then participation was up and down. I felt it was kind of a wash almost. Nothing really happened academically. We tried to connect emotionally with the kids, but I would say academically it was just kind of a waste of time.

Further, school administrators directed elementary teachers to focus solely on reading and mathematics. As a result, Mr. Hartfield’s students received no science instruction, not even about COVID.

For that section of time, there was no science or social studies or phonics, any of that. It was all reading comprehension and math work. . . . I know the district sent out COVID information by email, but as far as in my classroom, it’s almost like we ignored it, and we just did the math and the reading work.

The 2020–21 school year started with a semester online, but this time Mr. Hartfield felt better prepared for virtual teaching. He provided daily live meetings (recorded for those who missed them) and was able to touch on all academic subjects, including science. However, Mr. Hartfield was dissatisfied with the quality of the science instruction and learning for his students.

We did not have kits, we did not have materials for students at home. So it was basically science reading is what it winded up being. Science comprehension passages, not actually the practice of science.

Mr. Hartfield lamented that this way of teaching was in direct contrast to his philosophy, as he is a strong proponent of hands-on science education in lower elementary grades.

Science learning is best when it’s doing the process of science, when they’re actually planning it themselves and building themselves and creating the models themselves. It’s just super difficult at such a young age for them to conceptualize these ideas. They really have to have it physically in front of them. . . . For the younger kids, second, first, kindergarten, I just feel like they have to have something in front of them in person.

The opportunity to interact with students in person came during the second semester of the 2020-2021 academic year as his school adopted a hybrid model. Classes were split into halves and students alternated between virtual and in-person learning. However, while Mr. Hartfield preferred in-person instruction, it also came with higher risks. He recognized that COVID posed a serious threat to his health and that of everyone around him, including his family, his students, and their families.

I was kind of pulled in two directions because I wanted to be in class. I did want to be in class because I think learning at such a young age is better in person, but also at the same time with all the fears, especially earlier in the pandemic, you don’t want to be in class. You want everyone home safe. So I really felt kind of pulled in two directions. Of course, I want everybody safe. That was super important for me. But I was also kind of seeing as it went on this year, we are not learning, they’re not growing. . . . I wanted us to be there, but I also wanted to be home protecting my family.

Mr. Hartfield also explained that he felt very protective of his students at that time, a weight that he had never had to carry before.

There was a very personal direct connection of I am the one who has to protect them here from this virus. So I think I had a lot more buy-in. I’ve never really cared about flu season. Kids get sick, and they come and go, but with COVID being what it was, I think I felt like I had a role to actually protect them, which is kind of intimidating.

Therefore, Mr. Hartfield worked hard to reduce the health risks. He got vaccinated, sanitized his classroom daily and enforced mask-wearing and social distancing with his students. He also explained COVID to his students at a level they could understand and corrected their misconceptions.

In second grade, a lot of them just did not understand a lot of it still, despite how much they had probably talked to their family about it. “So why are we wearing masks? Why are we spaced out?” I think that was still confusing for a lot of them. I wouldn’t say there were fears, but more exaggerations. So they didn’t seem anxious or anything, but they were like, “You can die in class,” or things like that. I had to be like, “No, we’re going to stay safe.”

Unfortunately, despite his efforts to mitigate the risks, the return to in-person classes did not bring the return of hands-on learning. The district feared the spread of germs if students shared materials, so students had to watch from their socially distanced seats as Mr. Hartfield demonstrated the hands-on activities his students would normally get to do themselves. Ultimately, he found that the hybrid model was no more effective than online learning.

It was still, more or less, a wasted year. . . . It was just a strange year socially, a quieter year in the sense that they weren’t as happy-go-lucky and kind of rambunctious as they usually are in second. . . . Just in general, they are so much farther behind.

Finally, 2021–22 offered a glimpse of normalcy. The hybrid model ended, and all students returned to in-person classes. Restrictions eased, though Mr. Hartfield still discussed COVID with his class and encouraged them to wear masks and social distance. But perhaps the most significant change for Mr. Hartfield was the return to truly hands-on learning. He finally felt like his science teaching was effective again – and fun.

It felt a lot better having access to the hands-on stuff. So last year was a very fun year because it was really the first for me as well, with those same kits. . . . It was fun for me to see them actually get to interact with it. I could tell with them, too, it was just so much more interesting for them. They learned so much more because they got to actually do it.

With health risks easing and hands-on teaching restored, Mr. Hartfield ended the school year feeling optimistic about his future as a science teacher.

I love teaching, so whatever they throw at me, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be good with it.