Poll asks Louisiana educators about struggles teaching during COVID-19 pandemic

MONROE, La. (KNOE) A poll asked members of the Louisiana Association of Educators to weigh in on some of the struggles affecting both teachers and students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the LAE's website, "the national survey was conducted by GBAO Strategies and included a sampling of 739 members across Louisiana."

Educator's listed two of the top issues as "Students not having access to computers or technology" and "Students not having reliable internet."

Neville High School teacher Shanae Herron said, in situations like this, it's important to take issues with equity into account. She said some schools provided students with the necessary technology. However, due to conditions outside of the student's control, they may still be unable to access the internet.

"So we did things online, and they had the paper packets, which were great, the paper packets were a lifesaver. But if I don't get how to do the work and I can't go to the zoom session, you know, how do I as a student kind of catch that lesson?" she said.

Another result that Herron said caught her eye was from a section of the poll that asked both educators and parents what they thought the student's reaction to distance learning was. More educators than parents listed their student's reaction as confused. Meanwhile, almost twice as many parents as educators listed the reaction as hopeful.

"I thought that that was a very interesting find, that the parents thought one thing of a more positive note, but the teachers saw something, I don't want to say confused is negative, but something that was a little more alarming," said Herron.

She said many of her students were both confused and anxious regarding the changes. Herron is encouraging parents to continue to build their children up while also setting realistic structural guidelines at home.

"Zoom is not always easy, you know, when you have a little brother, or your mom is trying to cook dinner or when your dad is mowing the yard outside or if the internet is flakey. You know, regardless of where you live, regardless of your socioeconomic background, zoom and being required to sit in front of a computer to learn is such a transition."

Herron said educators have done an amazing job of transitioning, and she's encouraging them to prepare to further adapt if need be.

"I think that's what the coronavirus has taught us, is that we can't be stuck in a specific way of doing something," she said.

To view the full poll results, click here .