Are teachers acknowledging that our ability to excel in online teaching may depend on privilege like having dedicated space, money to buy additional tools, resources to make other aspects of life easier, and that those were also always factors disparately affecting kids?

And if we recognize that teachers with those benefits may find online teaching a more manageable undertaking and possibly be at an advantage over those without, are we extending that understanding to how we assess students and what our expectations of success were/are?

I wish all teachers the very best outcome in online teaching. I also hope we are taking the time to sit with the knowledge that some of us are suddenly going to be facing challenges and inequities and barriers to success that a lot of our students were already dealing with.

And if we know these factors will drastically impact us -adults- and how well we can do our jobs to the standards set for us, are we able to look at our grading policies & standards & expectations and say we were accounting for all these factors + more for our kids? That we will?

Should a teacher who can’t afford to purchase extra devices and monitors document cams and lights and has to teach from their kitchen table at their house with weak internet be evaluated the same as a teacher without those barriers? Probably but. But we’ve been doing it to kids.

So I hope whatever grace and understanding and accommodation and patience and consideration for circumstances we will need during this time is exactly what we will be willing to extend to students as well- not only now, but in the regular classroom. Always.