Desk For School

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In November 2017, I wrote: “The winners of the 21st century economy also need to be able to adapt, anticipate people’s needs and think in innovative ways. The school will best serve students by cultivating their ability to respond to changes in a positive way. Prepare for the challenges of the 21st century. Students need to understand how to actively look forward to how to use innovation to their advantage, instead of waiting for innovation to make previously cherished skills obsolete and respond. Parsons School of Design Innovation and Design Professor Dr. Bruce Nussbaum wrote: “This is not just thinking, but also involves learning and learning how to do new things in an uncertain, ambiguous, and complicated space in our lives. Nowadays. "

At the time, I couldn't imagine that as we respond to the impact of the global pandemic, the degree of change in educators, students and families will be forced to respond-it is definitely an uncertain, ambiguous and complicated space. In just a few months, the COVID pandemic has forced schools across the country to switch from traditional classroom-based teaching to specialized distance learning. In a short period of time, students and teachers have learned to use a variety of technical tools and techniques to continue to obtain and provide education at home. The transition to distance learning is not without challenges. Parents, students, and educators are all trying to solve various unique problems caused by distance learning, from the rise of depression and anxiety to the loss of student learning. Some people estimate that the cumulative learning loss can be large, especially in mathematics.

However, the larger scope includes more than just a narrow progress focus on academic progress. We must increase opportunities to accelerate student learning, but we must also recognize how much students and educators have learned outside of basic academic courses.

Many families are reading books with their children, playing board games together, learning to cook or bake at home, and children and their parents are communicating more than ever. Many students have already used this opportunity to get a part-time job and learn valuable work skills. Technology has been used in ways that may forever change the way we interact, from online virtual counselors to personalized schools, catering services, and social gatherings through video conferences.

Like children who grew up in the Great Depression and World Wars, today’s children have seen with their own eyes how people cooperate and care for each other in crises. Children are learning valuable life lessons, such as adapting to change, when everyone needs space and when they need the real needs of the community. Try our best to avoid it. The truth is that adversity plays an important role in the growth of our children. Overcoming adversity can build confidence, use our strengths, and encourage us to connect with others to build support networks. The challenges brought about by this epidemic can be used as opportunities for life and learning, and can actually enhance our children's adaptability.

Mental health educator Donna Volpitta wrote: “Today, resilience has a broader meaning. For researchers and professionals working with children, it’s not just a “rebound”. It’s about "Rebound." Resilience doesn't just mean returning to normal after encountering difficulties. It means learning from the process to become stronger and stronger to better meet the next challenge."

When we begin to prepare for face-to-face learning that is about to return to campus, the school will need to do everything possible to resolve the loss of academic learning caused by the pandemic. However, we also need to recognize and take advantage of the positive learning opportunities that this epidemic brings. In the past year, this pandemic has plagued educators, students, and families in an unprecedented way, but it has also allowed us to flourish in adversity. We need to guide students through the process of learning from these current challenges. We need to unite as never before and focus our energy on a stronger and better "rebound" than ever before.

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Harford County schools will purchase nearly 34,000 plastic protective covers for the desks of students and teachers to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Officials say this may allow them to bring back students two days later in the second half of this year.

The purchase of approximately $880,000 was approved at a special education committee meeting on Wednesday morning.

Starting on March 1, elementary students in Harford County Public Schools will return to school once a week, while junior and high school students are scheduled to start on March 15.

It is not clear how fast the school system can move twice a week once the plastic shield arrives, but Burson said that Wednesday the school will not open two days a week starting on March 1, even if the plastic shield Arrived before then. These shields are expected to be shipped in mid-February.

Burson said: "We will not work two days a week on March 1. There is still a lot of evaluation work to be done." "We are trying to create all possible conditions to quickly migrate to two days a week. It started... but we saw that the possibility of migrating two days a week was much faster than we even thought, and much earlier. About a few weeks ago."

Since November 13, HCPS has started virtual learning, when the COVID-19 indicators in states and counties began to soar. On Monday, State School Superintendent Karen Salmon Governor Larry Hogan and State Deputy Secretary of Public Health Dr. Jinlene Chan announced plans to return to the local area and urged all Maryland school systems to return students to campus. Early March.

The board purchased 31,471 associate student desks and 2,298 associate teacher desks with 6 votes to 0 (board members David Bauer, Joyce Herold, and Tamera Rush missed the special meeting). The student guardrail is tri-folded, covering the front and side of each table. Eric Davis, the administrative director of the school system, said the teacher's desk guard is a whole.

According to Deborah Judd, Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Commerce Service, the plastic shield is funded by the Second and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, which is the US$900 billion Federal Coronavirus Relief Act signed into law at the end of December. a part of.

Last spring, the school system did not use the funds from the first round of the CARES Act to purchase plastic protective covers, because most of the money was used to purchase student equipment and other personal protective equipment, such as masks.

Judd wrote in an email: "With the additional funds we have now, we can explore what other items are needed to continue to safely send teachers and students back to the classroom."

Although the shield is portable, the number of shields purchased is not enough to be allocated to each student in the school system. Instead, 15 student shields were purchased for each classroom, which allowed about half of the typical class size in a room.

Burson said: "Fifteen people have made us reach the level of having students two days a week. In this case, every student has a choice."

Cornell Brown, assistant director of operations, explained that some protective covers may be allocated to rooms that have not been used all day, especially in middle schools.

He said: "In the high school stage, the students moved and every classroom was not used, so even if they are not occupied, we will install protective shields in the classroom." "In the resource areas such as music and art, these rooms are not used. Not always in use, and science laboratories are not always in use, but they will be equipped with desktop protective panels so that students can use the equipment when entering these classrooms."

School officials pointed out that the state’s guidelines for reopening schools require safety protocols, such as masking, social distancing and frequent cleaning, which are barriers to bringing more students back to safe face-to-face learning. In particular, maintaining a physical distance of 6 feet between unrelated students is an obstacle to not allowing more than a quarter of the children to attend the classroom at a time, so the plan is to teach only one day a week.

Even with desk covers, students must wear masks in the classroom. Board member Dr. Roy Phillips (Roy Phillips) pointed out that the shield does not provide much protection on either side. Phillips said that young people must maintain a distance of 6 feet from side to side, but schools can reduce the distance between front and back to attract more students into the classroom.

Because they are portable, they can also be taken to the cafeteria during lunch.

“Lunch is a place where children don’t wear masks, so they can take them with them. Some schools can put them in the lunch room and stay there. Other schools can let children put them down, but it does provide more protection. In the dining room where no children wear masks," Burson said.

The principal reiterated that plastic shields alone are not enough to bring students back twice a week, but this is a step in the right direction.

Bulsen said: "Buying plexiglass will help...it only provides a higher level of support, but nothing we do will change the process." "I think this is a good addition. , What I can promise is that we will work hard to reach two days as soon as possible."