Unified Arts During Covid-19 Pandemic
We are living in strange times right now with the Covid-19 happening now. This pandemic changed life overnight as we know it. Things that are usually open like bars, recreation centers, grocery stores and schools are all either closed or restricted by how many people can be in that place at one time.
Focusing on the schools, teachers have to start teaching online and some subjects are easier to teach online than others. Students of the Columbus City Schools District have been given Chromebooks so they can continue their classes online. Math, Science, Social Studies, and Writing can all be moved online and the teaching process somewhat stays the same.
The Unified Arts however struggle with this new way of teaching. Unified Arts include Dance, Drama, Instrumental and Vocal Music, and Physical Education. William Compton, Eastmoor Academy’s High School Band teacher has been finding ways to teach his instrumental music class throughout this pandemic.
“This all happened so fast my kids didn’t take their horns home. So I have to go back to my general music stuff (ex. scale sheets, sight reading, etc) and have them do videos and critique the music they were already working on.”
“It was kind of a scramble at first. They (Columbus City Schools) started rolling out all this stuff we never used before and told us to do the best we can. I uploaded some videos but it’s just drum set stuff because I don’t have all the instruments at my home to play stuff and it’s rough.”
Compton feels that teaching music online is not worth it for his ensembles. “Private lessons you can do those one on one online but anywhere you need to have everybody start and stop there’s no way you can do that online.”
Corona is affecting potential scholarships and offers for seniors looking to further their music journey. Getting all the experience you can while in high school is important right now and that has been taken away from them. Not having your instrument with you during these times can be detrimental to your growth as a musician.
Unified Arts teachers can only do so much to provide their students with the resources they need to be successful. Andrea Adams, a private music teacher offers another perspective on this pandemic going on.
When asked if teaching over the phone is an effective way to teach music Andrea said, “ I do when you can’t do anything else because if I wasn’t calling my students on the phone they wouldn’t be getting a lesson at all.”
“We’re working towards a goal (playing classical hymns etc) and knowing that we have a call on Monday motivates them to practice. They need to be ready when I call so we aren’t wasting anytime so they’re ready.”
Andrea also said that if they had to teach more classes online even after this pandemic is over that she would. She said that if it’s convenient to the student and her that more phone call sessions would be held for her.
Seth Harms, the drama teacher and theater director at Eastmoor Academy has been making his online classes as fair as they can be. He is not wanting to stress out students more during an already stressful time. The District rolled out a similar guideline sheet that the band students are following but for the drama students.
He said he has been teaching on Google Classroom and having students watch certain excerpts of plays and critiquing them for his class.
“I had them watch a Stomp performance and do a critique on that then they were supposed to create their own little Stomp video. The latest thing was to make a Covid-19 playlist. Songs that inspire us to through these times or reflect on what’s going on.”
When asked if it is a struggle for his students to do the online work Harms said:
Harms feels there is a motivation problem with online classes but he also understands that not all situations at home are ideal for his students. “You might have multiple kids in your house but only one computer. We don’t know what that situation is like. ”
When asked if the district provided the Unified Arts Teachers with enough resources to continue their classes online Harms said, “As an art teacher I will have to say no. This whole online academy they are talking about us using Edmentum as our primary platform but there’s no Edmentum classes for theater. To even have theater you need an actor and an audience. We might have to use WebEx so students can perform their monologue and we (his class) can be the audience.”
Through this whole pandemic, the Unified Arts Teachers are staying strong and innovative to give their students the best online learning experience possible.
