Being A New Teacher In 2020

 There are many challenges for Wylie teachers this year especially for first year teachers or teachers new to Wylie. Educators must navigate the classroom, enforce COVID regulations, and manage online learning. These new teachers who have officially mastered their first semester at Wylie in the midst are making history by doing all this while finding ways to properly acclimate to the school. 

“It’s always an adjustment with every new job,” according to chemistry teacher and JV cheer sponsor, Ms. Allen, but this year the adjustments are a little bigger than previously. The online classroom is uncharted territory for many teachers; for Allen two big drawbacks are the larger workloads and having to “lack that personal relationship with the online kids.” Through all of this, she still found ways to see the bright side. “Having to sanitize, having to watch masks, having to do all the extra stuff on top of purely teaching my courses… It’s a lot,” she jokingly said. “But I know that everyone is in the same boat. So, I’m trying to keep in mind that because I feel overwhelmed, it isn’t just because I’m at a new school. I think everyone is a little overwhelmed this year.” 

Mrs. Kruse, the advanced quantitative reasoning and financial math teacher, is also new to Wylie. She has taught for 17 years and was an administrator for 3, and says this switch (compared previous years) “is like comparing apples to oranges.” The last school Kruse was at did everything by paper, whereas Wylie is now largely online. “It’s actually (the transition towards technology) been a good exchange. She likes how even if an ‘in person learner’ misses a day for miscellaneous reasons, it’s easy for them to go look on Schoology or Google Classroom to make it up instead of having to go in for tutorials. One of the cons Kruse ran into was having to teach with a mask on. “You run out of breath, and everybody’s like are you out of shape? No! I just can’t breath.” 

Ms. Allen and Mrs. Kruse both agree that this transitional year could have been significantly more difficult with different administration. “I think this is a good place for someone to have come. Wylie is very organized, and you have a great administration group!” Mrs. Kruse commented. Ms. Allen mentioned how “all the students and all the teachers have been very flexible, and I think that’s a really admirable thing!”

In future years as we prepare for school, new lessons, and new challenges, the transfer teachers will have the opportunity to look to educators like Ms. Allen, Mrs. Kruse, and so many other teachers at Wylie who made a home and a workspace is such a nuanced year. Our teachers and mentors are such wonderful warriors who show kids how to navigate transition, high school, and COVID with grace. If students, teachers, or parents ever start to doubt what is truly possible, tell them to look to the teachers of 2020.