By: Sapphire Bennett OMAHA, Neb. – Grade school teachers are still adjusting to the last impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The pandemic caused many changes to the education system and what the teaching experience is like for educators.
Another adjustment caused by the pandemic is the increased technology usage. At first, students and teachers didn’t have a choice but to work in a remote setting, having class through screens. Four years later, educators are still choosing to use more technology in the classrooms.
Omaha North Teacher Sheila Connor says there are many tools she now appreciates that she hadn’t used before the pandemic, like online textbooks which offer audio options and different languages for the students.
Teachers report an evident learning gap that came from the prolonged period of remote education, with many students still struggling to recover.
Alison Iles, former high school guidance counselor, encourages teachers to refrain from singling out any students that are behind, and instead use the opportunity to refresh the class as a whole.
Iles now works with ACE Mentorship here in Omaha, an organization that emphasizes trade schools as a post-grad option for high school students rather than traditional college.
