Item
Teacher Interview: Avilette de Castro
Title (Dublin Core)
Teacher Interview: Avilette de Castro
Description (Dublin Core)
Middle school Spanish teacher, Avilette de Castro, answers student questions about changes to education in the coronavirus pandemic.
Walls: What is your name, grade you teach and school you teach in?
de Castro: Avilitte Castro, Sebastian Middle 7-8th grade Spanish
Walls: How has the pandemic changed the way you teach?
de Castro: So, the biggest thing is that I feel like I haven’t taught enough, like I'm putting stuff out there and it’s not sticking. Before the pandemic there was more engagement and now there isn’t. Especially with those that are DL’s (distance learners).
Walls: What was the biggest challenge in the beginning?
de Castro: We were not prepared as teachers at all for what we had to do. I had never taught online before and I had to try to adapt everything online. Not everyone showed up. It’s not high school, they don’t think that it counts. They don't realize that even though their grades won't neccessarily carry on to high school, everything else will.
Walls: What is the biggest challenge now?
de Castro: So now, it’s mostly back to normal in some senses. We haven’t had any kids go into quarantine in awhile and I’m down to only 3 DL’s and I don't know if the kids are fully into it. I always have the thought that we could go back into quarantine. We just adopted a new textbook and I have to tell that book as well. The EOC (End of Course Exam) for this year is being used from this new book. I am adapting everything, but not able to get a hold of everything. I am learning this new book as well as my students.
Walls: How do you think students are doing? What are their biggest challenges?
de Castro: I don’t think, for me, I really don’t think I’ve taught them as well as I normally do. I hate to say this because it’s not quite bad. Some of my students aren’t doing anything, because they don’t think it will count. The other thing for me, I do a language class. A big part of my class is conversation. I don’t let them work in groups and they aren’t able to get the conversation that they used to get. Right now we are doing a food unit. They don’t get the reaction in conversations.
Walls: Do you see anything beneficial coming from the changes you have had to implement?
de Castro: Oh yeah. For me, doing stuff with technology has always been supplemental instead of part of the curriculum. Like if I post this you can have it and now everything is online. The kids have access to it online, doesn’t mean the students use the extra resources. I’ve been having to use the textbook website and it’s something that they can do anywhere that they are at. It’s an added resource, so it's a benefit for them.
Walls: How has parent involvement changed during the pandemic?
de Castro: No, one of my DL’s has his guardian sister with him the whole time and it’s a little nerve racking to have her hear me the whole time. It’s pretty much the same overall.
Walls: What is your name, grade you teach and school you teach in?
de Castro: Avilitte Castro, Sebastian Middle 7-8th grade Spanish
Walls: How has the pandemic changed the way you teach?
de Castro: So, the biggest thing is that I feel like I haven’t taught enough, like I'm putting stuff out there and it’s not sticking. Before the pandemic there was more engagement and now there isn’t. Especially with those that are DL’s (distance learners).
Walls: What was the biggest challenge in the beginning?
de Castro: We were not prepared as teachers at all for what we had to do. I had never taught online before and I had to try to adapt everything online. Not everyone showed up. It’s not high school, they don’t think that it counts. They don't realize that even though their grades won't neccessarily carry on to high school, everything else will.
Walls: What is the biggest challenge now?
de Castro: So now, it’s mostly back to normal in some senses. We haven’t had any kids go into quarantine in awhile and I’m down to only 3 DL’s and I don't know if the kids are fully into it. I always have the thought that we could go back into quarantine. We just adopted a new textbook and I have to tell that book as well. The EOC (End of Course Exam) for this year is being used from this new book. I am adapting everything, but not able to get a hold of everything. I am learning this new book as well as my students.
Walls: How do you think students are doing? What are their biggest challenges?
de Castro: I don’t think, for me, I really don’t think I’ve taught them as well as I normally do. I hate to say this because it’s not quite bad. Some of my students aren’t doing anything, because they don’t think it will count. The other thing for me, I do a language class. A big part of my class is conversation. I don’t let them work in groups and they aren’t able to get the conversation that they used to get. Right now we are doing a food unit. They don’t get the reaction in conversations.
Walls: Do you see anything beneficial coming from the changes you have had to implement?
de Castro: Oh yeah. For me, doing stuff with technology has always been supplemental instead of part of the curriculum. Like if I post this you can have it and now everything is online. The kids have access to it online, doesn’t mean the students use the extra resources. I’ve been having to use the textbook website and it’s something that they can do anywhere that they are at. It’s an added resource, so it's a benefit for them.
Walls: How has parent involvement changed during the pandemic?
de Castro: No, one of my DL’s has his guardian sister with him the whole time and it’s a little nerve racking to have her hear me the whole time. It’s pretty much the same overall.
Date (Dublin Core)
Type (Dublin Core)
Interview
Link (Bibliographic Ontology)
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
Contributor's Tags (a true folksonomy) (Friend of a Friend)
Collecting Institution (Bibliographic Ontology)
Flagler College Digital Humanities Alliance
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
06/15/2021
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
06/24/2021
06/28/2021
08/06/2021
04/19/2022
05/16/2022
06/26/2023
This item was submitted on June 15, 2021 by [anonymous user] using the form “Share Your Story” on the site “A Journal of the Plague Year”: http://mail.covid-19archive.org/s/archive
Click here to view the collected data.