In early 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ravaged countries across the world, causing them to essentially shut down. Communities had to retreat indoors and socially distance from one another. One aspect of life that drastically changed was schooling. It moved from traditional face-to-face spaces to online digital platforms. Students, faculty, and staff across all levels of schooling shifted to teaching and learning vis-a-vis online digital platforms. Those of us connected to the training of the next generation of teachers navigated through the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic at the preschool to post-secondary levels as well. This chapter focuses on the authors' experiences as a Black university supervisor and as a Black field placement coordinator.
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“Ok, boys and girls. Let’s begin to pack up and get ready to go,” elementary education intern Emily shouts out over the cacophony of lively third graders who knew that the school day was almost over.
The energy rises to a near frenzy. The 22 third graders buzz around pulling on their jackets, stuffing colorful folders into their backpacks, and putting their pencils and crayons back in the plastic bins on their desks. Laughter between the bus announcements wafts over the air. Ms. Jones1, the mentor teacher, and I are seated at the back kidney-shaped table.
“Do you think schools will close?” Ms. Jones asks with a deep sigh.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. The virus is moving so fast.”
“Hmm...I wonder what’s going to happen,” whispers Ms. Jones.
Ms. Jones excuses herself from the table to go to speak to the other third grade teacher, leaving me to scan the room with the attempt to make mental snapshots of this lively space. A burgeoning and deep sense of dread pools in my stomach because I have the sneaking suspicion that school will be dramatically different in a few days.
I return to my iPad mini to complete my notes compiled during the observation of Emily’s lesson. Soon an alert sounds, signaling that a new email has arrived. This email announces that the university will be closed the two weeks before spring break. I shout, “Oh my goodness!” and place a hand over my mouth.
Ms. Jones and Emily look over at me with their eyebrows raised asking, “What?!”
“The university is closed for the next two weeks. We don’t go back until April!”
“What? Are you serious?” exclaimed Emily.
Ms. Jones scans her eyes over the students as they file out of the room when their bus number is announced through the speakers. She has a pensive look on her face.
After all of the children leave the room to head home or the after-school activities, Emily, Ms. Jones, and I gather with the other third grade teachers. Everyone talks over one another.
“Get ready. The district schools are going to close soon,” I say.
“I heard that there was a case in Goose Bay,” said a reading teacher colleague.
“Do you think this is like the flu?” another one asks.
“Oh no! This is moving way too fast. This is worse than the flu,” I respond quickly.
“What’s going to happen? To the internship? To this week’s seminar? To graduation?” Emily’s eyes widen in panic.
On a deep sigh, I respond, “I don’t know, but it’s going to be completely different from now on.”
COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus disease, has had a tremendous impact on teaching and learning across all levels of schooling. The anecdote of the announcement that the local university was closing and soon after the public schools in this district marked a decisive departure from the way “schooling” had been done. Weeks later, young people would experience school through a virtual platform instead of being in a physical building. The demands and urgency for quick innovations for effective remote instruction thrust unimaginable expectations and pedagogical nimbleness upon all responsible for teaching and learning.
The entire enterprise of teaching and learning within schools embarked on a paradigm shift. The co-authors of this chapter serve as a university supervisor in public elementary schools or as the field placement coordinator for a college of education in their respective local areas. The chapter details the ways in which we, as those directly connected to working with interns, navigated the shift from in-person observations and conferencing to moving primarily to virtual platforms. We will share our experiences, in particular, as Black women, and the ways in which this pandemic affects the relationships between and among the intern, the mentor teacher, the grade level, and the building community. First, this chapter details who we are as authors.