By Amanda Klare
Beechwood Elementary School
On April 11, 1970, three of NASA’s astronauts, Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, were sent off on the Apollo 13 lunar landing mission aboard the Saturn V rocket. The launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida went off without a hitch. NASA was looking forward to its third successful moon landing.
Two days later on the evening of April 13th, Jack Swigert had flipped a switch for a routine procedure when the entire spacecraft shook, power went out and the oxygen levels began going down. This was followed by his famous words, “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” The initial mission to land on the moon was no longer the focus; the new goal was now to merely make it back to Earth alive.
All hands were on deck to come up with solutions to help get these three American heroes back on Earth. It was a cold and miserable journey, but with innovative solutions from Mission Control and sacrifices of the astronauts, they splashed back down to Earth in the Pacific Ocean on April 17th.
As we celebrate this incredible miracle 50 years later, I find it somewhat ironic that we are now in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. We are living our own “Houston, we’ve had a problem” moment. All hands are on deck as we seek out solutions to flatten the curve. Everyday people like grocery store employees, healthcare workers, and custodians have stepped up to fight for humanity on the front lines by going into work knowing there is a strong chance they will contract COVID-19.
This entire coronavirus situation shook the world of education when teachers across the Commonwealth of Kentucky were told on Friday, March 13th that they would be starting Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI) as early as that Monday, March 16th, in some districts. Did teachers complain? No. Did they panic? Maybe a little. But what has outweighed the sense of drowning is the resilience that educators, administrators, districts, parents and students have shown in the past month.
Getting in some exercise at home.
I’ve never been more proud to be an educator than I have been in the past few weeks. Just like the Apollo 13 crew had NASA’s innovative team working together to find solutions, we have teachers, administrators and district leaders doing the same thing in our current situation.
Teachers are taking the time to learn new forms of technology like Zoom or Google Meet in order to teach lessons and make connections daily with their students. They’re learning how to pre-record lessons and share them via their new YouTube channel or on Google Classroom. They’re taking the time to check in on their students’ social-emotional health. They’re creating Facebook pages or Flipgrid accounts for their students to be able to still connect with their classmates. They’re putting pen to paper to write a handwritten note to students to tell them they’re thinking about them.
Administrators are bringing a sense of normalcy to our students by continuing to do morning announcements and share shoutouts, but this time they’re sent out via video instead of over the intercom. They’re organizing teacher caravans for the schools’ students to see their teachers that they miss. They’re holding virtual weekly faculty meetings to answer questions. They’re joining the teachers’ Google Classrooms and Class Dojo accounts to make connections with students. Their open-door policy is now a virtual one where they’re available by email, phone or video conference.
Districts have stepped up to make sure that students are taken care of beyond just the academic needs. Breakfast and lunches are available for families Monday through Friday. Surveys were sent to check in on helping with other needs families might have as well. Students’ mental, physical and academic needs are all being closely monitored by districts.
The students and their families are like the astronauts of the Apollo 13 mission. They have made many sacrifices in order to continue to learn and be healthy at home with the new goal to finish this 2019-2020 school year with the NTI platform. Learning at school and learning at home are two different things. Some families have only one device and students are sharing workspace with siblings, yet they’re still getting the work done. Parents are working from home and managing to support their kids’ academic and social-emotional needs on top of their everyday responsibilities.
Our original mission to have a normal school year has definitely been altered, but with our solutions-based mindset, we will come out of this situation better and stronger. To quote our Governor Andy Beshear, “We will get through this. We will get through this together.”
Amanda Klare is a Hope Street Group Kentucky State Teacher Fellow alumna and a teacher at Beechwood Elementary School (Beechwood Independent). Klare created and maintains the Northern Kentucky Tribune‘s “Voices From The Classroom” feature, which highlights local teachers and their work to improve outcomes for students. She is a recipient of the 2019 Teacher Achievement Award and was a semifinalist for the 2019 Kentucky Teacher of the Year award.
