k-12 Teaching in 2020

Collection Title: k-12 Teaching in 2020

Description: The purpose of this interview is to document the experiences of teachers working during the Corona Virus pandemic and protests against anti-Black racism and police brutality in 2020. I’m hoping to address how DC teachers experienced the initial school closures, transitioning into virtual or hybrid model teaching in the spring of 2020 and going into the 20/21 school year after a summer of reevaluating the needs of the community in terms of childcare, employment, and safety concerns. I also hope to find out about the role of teachers and schools in the anti-racism movements of 2020, what individual teachers can and should be doing, and what changes or systems they see their districts implementing (or not) in light of the ongoing BLM protests. Interviews conducted by Sophia Nimlo as part of American University's Fall 2020 Oral History Class.

: Hydie Hess Interview, November 4, 2020

: "Narrator" Interview, November 20, 2020

: Sheena Styles Interview, November 18, 2020; Sheena Styles works at a public school in Washington DC teaching 4th grade math and science. In this interview we discuss her early experiences with education, how she became a teacher. She discusses the significance of teaching demographics and how systemic shifts in DCPS have increased the amount of white women in teaching and reduced the number of teacher of color. She also discusses the kind of impact the national Black Lives Matter protests had within her classroom and the importance of anti-racist teaching practices. She tells her story of how the Covid-19 virus shut down her school, how the school addressed issues with equity, and the ways she has had adapt to teaching virtually. She shares her thoughts on teacher and student safety in the face of Covid-19 and the importance of teaching as a profession and the significant work teachers do within society.