‘A huge unknown’: A New Orleans teacher weighs a return to school amid covid-19
What will classrooms look like? How will students cope? For Cindy Denson, a pre-k teacher at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, the questions outnumber answers.
By Erron Thomas
New Orleans is slowly re-opening now three months after Mayor LaToya Cantrell first advised residents to stay at home, announcing school closures and strict limits on local businesses. For many, however, a return to day-to-day life still seems hard to grasp.
Cindy Denson, a pre-k teacher at Isidore Newman School, spent the final months of the school year teaching virtually. The experience was a first over her 39-year career.
“I try to throw myself into my online teaching,” Denson said. “I’m trying really hard to be very creative with my ideas for my lesson plans and activities for the kids.”
Denson is now looking toward the fall. There are still so many unanswered questions, she said. Will schools return? What will classrooms look like? How will students be affected? The uncertainty “is very scary,” she said.
“I like a plan,” Denson said.
That includes the economic uncertainty. Denson said her son was among the thousands of locals out of work as a result covid-19 business closures. He went from a 50-hour work week to nothing overnight, she said.
The adjustment was tough, like watching “my child changing in front of my eyes,” Denson said.
Denson sat down with Lede New Orleans Fellow Erron Thomas to share her experience. Their interview was edited for length and clarity.
How has coronavirus affected you personally?
It disrupted [my career] after 39 years of teaching, which is a pretty big deal. I’m not used to being at home. I have always worked so to be confined is challenging for me. I’m an “out there” kind of a person, out there in the public. So this is challenging.
How are you coping?
I’ve been walking quite a bit. Three times a day. I walk in the morning. I try to walk in the afternoon and I walk in the evening. That’s my form of stress relief and exercise. I’m not a lifting weights/exercise kind of person, but I’ve always enjoyed walking…
I’ve also been getting into some meditation, which is awesome for me because normally I’m kind of hyper and I can’t sit still. That’s why I think I’m great working with 4- and 5-year-olds. I have the same attention span. I’m really working on meditation and mindfulness. It’s hard for me to just be.
How have you been staying connected?
I’ve been reaching out to friends that I haven’t talked to in a long time and actually having phone calls with college friends, [even] elementary school friends that I’m still friends with. I’ve maintained these relationships without Facebook. That’s what I’ve been doing and that’s been really helpful to me…
I’ve really been reconnecting with a lot of people. That’s been a silver lining for sure.
What worries you about covid-19?
I never in my lifetime ever thought I would experience anything like this…
How many people are going to die? What’s going to happen to the population? What is our future going to look like? Are we going to be wearing masks for years to come? Are we never going to shake hands with people again? What’s the classroom going to look like? The classroom setting? What about sporting events and festivals and concerts and life?
I’m very concerned about the future of the world. It’s a huge unknown.
What could New Orleans be doing better?
I see so many people not wearing masks. So many people are not socially distant. I do get in the car and ride around a little bit just to get out of the house with my mask on. But I see tons of people not wearing masks and gathering… I don’t know why they’re not taking it more seriously.
There’s a sense of social responsibility that I don’t think people are taking. Or they think, “It won’t happen to me. I’m young. I’m healthy”… That’s a concern for me.
How do you feel about New Orleans re-opening?
That’s a double-edged sword. Of course, I want the economy to open up. Of course I want my son to go back to work and everyone else who’s unemployed. But I’m being really cautious about this.
I’m data driven not date driven.
