Hello all! I'm writing a scifi novel that takes place in the 19th and 21st century. Two of the characters happen to be teachers, in the US, in 2020. Now, in 2019, when I was going to write this story, I didn't really think I would need too much information, but I think that profession, like many others, has changed radically since While my story does not about teaching or about the pandemic, I figured I would need at least some information to paint the backdrop in a believable way. The two teachers in my story are from an American suburb. They're not big characters. They are a married couple. The wife visits her parents in another country during February or March of 2020, so she and her husband stay a couple of months apart when the pandemic hits. She chooses to stay abroad because she feels it's safer for her own children who are with her, and she also wants to stay with her parents. She might continue teaching remotely, though of course there is a radical time difference that might impact her performance. The husband stays alone in the US so he can continue to teach (and also because I need him alone without his family for the events of the main plotline). Maybe he also helps her out (if for example a student of hers needs something and she's unable to physically be there or the time difference is a problem). So the husband watches Birx and Fauci on TV, while the wife watches the local news of the country she visits (back in March Fauci was not yet internationally known. It took a couple of months). So just go ahead and tell me your experience as a teacher in this pandemic, from March to whenever you want. I'm looking for things that someone who isn't a teacher or isn't an American won't really know. If you already know what you want to tell me, go ahead and respond. If you want to hear more specific thoughts from me first, then here goes: What were your instructions from the school? Were you focused more on frontal education via zoom or more on handing out assignments via mail? What teacher-specific software did you use? What brand new problems arose? I heard from a teacher that there were problems with the kids who didn't have computers, and I'm hearing a lot on the news today about the deterioration of in the mental well-being of students in Vegas on January of 2021.
This confuses me, but I think you mean it takes place in 2019 & 2020? Or does part of the story take place in the Victorian era, then skip the 20th century and straight to 2019? Just looking for clarification (I'm sure other people are confused as well).
A couple of items: A teacher leaving in February or March to visit parents for an extended time, during the school year, wouldn't just happen. Maybe if a parent was very ill or something, but then it is unlikely she would take her children, and it would be more along the lines of a leave of absence. I guess if the trip coincided with a Spring Break, but those generally do not happen until later in March, at the earliest, at least in my experience. As far as software, you might explore Google Classrooms as a system for assigning, tracking and grading student assignments. I had my own experiences during the beginning of the pandemic, and they continue in the classroom to this day, but a teacher leaving to visit mid school year, and taking her kids, is a non-starter, at least for me. I guess I could see it if she were to use any 'personal/emergency leave' days in her contract. Normally three maximum--but sometimes fewer available, if any, combined with a holiday, like Presidents' day (usually the 2nd or 3rd Monday in February) she could get 4 of the 5 weekdays covered. And maybe work in an unpaid leave day. That way she would have two weekends and a full week to visit. But normally taking personal leave days prior to weekends that include a Monday holiday are restricted, and such. There may be some variation from one school district to another. Anything longer than that, in the middle of a school year? Not likely. I get you want her over there when the pandemic hits its stride, but what you're proposing is a stretch, as I see it.
I agree with TWErvin2 about leaves of absence. I'm a teacher (not in the US, but) while we get a lot of time off days-wise, our calendar is locked in stone. Where I work, any professor absences need to be made up, and I've got friends who teach JHS, HS, and university-level in the US and I've never heard of them "taking some time off" for anything other than contagious illness or family emergency. It's really, really hard to take over someone's class for more than a day or two, let alone get things set up to allow another teacher to take yours over.
Duly noted. I'll chew on it for a while, maybe change the timeline or even change the story (I had earlier versions of this, that don't include her leaving the country, and that don't even include covid, because I started developing it way before). What about the teacher who stays home? No matter what I come up with, the husband, the wife, or both, will remain in the states (possibly in two different states).
TIG, You might look at the Family and Medical Leave Act, in the USA, as a viable method to separate your husband and wife. (You can research it online for details) But again, I am not sure the kids would go if there were an ill parent. Another notion might be the wife resigns her current teaching position to take a job as an instructor at an online school. Before COVID, they did exist. I do not know much about them, although one co-worker worked at one prior to becoming a faculty member at the school where I work.
