As the coronavirus pandemic ravages its way through 2020, schools across America are gearing up to return to in-person learning this month. But with strict social distancing protocols, and an invisible enemy still at large, returning to the classroom looks dramatically different than ever before.
Earlier this year, For Every Mom shared photos from around the world after students returned to school amid the coronavirus pandemic. Now teachers in the U.S. are taking to social media with a grim look inside the walls of a school in 2020.
In accordance with guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, students and staff are to remain 6 feet apart, wash hands frequently, and wear masks throughout the school day, and teachers are responsible for following strict sanitizing procedures.
Here are 22 photos of what in-person schooling looks like around the United States right now.
1. Desks that feel more like “time out” than an inviting learning environment.
Quite possibly the saddest thing I’ve ever seen in my classroom. This is not how I teach. This is not a room that says “welcome, let’s have fun learning!” This is not going be easy. pic.twitter.com/EHvxP6mZtx
— Carolyn Wagner, MJE (@LZwags) August 10, 2020
2. Plexiglass barriers for further isolation.
First look at my classroom since March 6, 2020. It’s like it was frozen in time. Now there are these obtrusive black barriers on some of the desks and that is the only change I see with the exception of the water fountain covered up with a black garbage bag. #livesoverlessons pic.twitter.com/qQAiyqgDSh
— Florida gal (@kelkenney0427) August 12, 2020
3. And teachers thought it was difficult to get enough supplies before…
The PPE my school district so generously supplied me for the entire school year. 1 homemade face shield, a leaking bottle of hand sanatizer, 1 pair of gloves, and a saturated 1 layer mask. Kids were back to school today pic.twitter.com/MSBiNj22FN
— Hipster Hot Mess (@anna_doak) August 6, 2020
4. Shower curtains covering books.
Never did I ever think I’d be covering my classroom library with a shower curtain 😅 pic.twitter.com/SRFfdsv0SA
— Lesley Snyder (@lesleymsnyder) August 11, 2020
5. Anxiously awaiting distance policing.
Today I helped set up my mom’s first grade classroom. The CDC recommends that desks be 6 feet apart and we can barely get them 3 feet apart. Not to mention kids not staying in their seats, taking off their masks, and getting in each other’s faces. School starts in three weeks. pic.twitter.com/9tq9l7xnZh
— Mel Diamond (@mel__aroni) August 6, 2020
6. Teachers are preparing for worst-case scenario.
Added to the list of surreal 2020 events: Teachers lined up to prepare living wills before going back to school. A 25-year-old told me this is never how she would’ve pictured getting ready for her 2nd year teaching. Another said it’d be a fitting subject for a Dalí painting. pic.twitter.com/7ZAExMMQtf
— Mary Green (@MaryGreenNews) August 9, 2020
7. Teachers getting creative with sneeze guards.
Making the most of social distancing in your classroom. pic.twitter.com/HLfh2Zsl0i
— Jason Elsom (@JasonElsom) August 16, 2020
8. A new normal for gym class.
Creating an outdoor PE classroom with 2m physical distancing between individual student stations pic.twitter.com/0l3RFCOd5J
— Sonia Sheehan (@sonia_sheehan) August 15, 2020
9. College classes are a nightmare.
Teaching 75 minutes with a mask on, behind a glass, in person for 70 students, and 150 other ones live connected via Zoom, asking questions with the chat, with dual Zoom/Mediasite recording, multiple files/slide sharing, is a nightmare. It’s not fun for the students either… pic.twitter.com/bh3px3R5Vg
— Denis Fourches (@DFourches) August 11, 2020
10. School supplies look vastly different.
As president of a school board in Orange County, CA, I bought $85,000 worth of plexiglass for our 9,000 students to sit behind, and masks for all. That’s if we can get off the watch list of Governor @GavinNewsom . It’s tough out here in OC! Here’s a classroom set up. You like ? pic.twitter.com/QEHpZtmzlm
— Gina Clayton-Tarvin (@gclaytontarvin) August 10, 2020
11. Alternating in-person learning days.
Today we welcomed the “Red Group” (approx. half the student body) back to campus for the first day of school! Tomorrow the “Blue Group” will attend their first day of in-person classes before transitioning to a hybrid learning model. We missed you, Ritamen!! pic.twitter.com/JbJg4dgEBl
— St. Rita Chicago (@StRitaHS) August 17, 2020
12. Teachers confined to desk area.
My friend’s classroom in a neighboring county returning face to face:
28 desks. 2.5- 3ft spacing. Blue zone for the teacher only. Masks optional. pic.twitter.com/rpSUbrnJFS
— Aaron Avera (@AaronAvera) August 3, 2020
13. Social distancing in the hallways.
We are two days from schools resuming in person instruction in WCSD. Here is where some of the 460k the district spent on PPE went: paper towels, hand sanitizer, and what smells like a damn Dawn dish soap water solution. This is what our hallways will look like. This is unreal. pic.twitter.com/FzNm09KsuH
— stay home, defund the police (@jcdrom) August 15, 2020
