(NEWS10) — It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, and this year, it seems to mean more than ever.
Just like most parents, teachers with kids have had to adjust to the pandemic. They’ve had to learn new online skills for teaching students, who are now distance learning.
In the meantime, they are also busy helping to support their own kids’ education while at home. And like most moms and dads, they find themselves having to run the home “cafeteria.”
“You’re a short order cook all of a sudden. And kids eat on demand,” says Shane Bleyenburg.
Shane’s kids are in 6th and 8th grade. He is also a teacher in the Corinth school district.
“The good is really hard to find right now. But one thing that I’ve been super proud of is how active they have been in online learning. I’ve had some kids who I’m like, ‘I don’t know if they’re going to do it.’ And they show up. They do their work,” he says.
Anya: “Have you had any moments where you feel like, I’ve had it’?”
Vicki Ouimet: “Oh, absolutely. I’ve had moments where ,you know, maybe a Google meeting didn’t go right with a student. Just a feeling of being overwhelmed.”
Vicki Ouimet is a grandmother and mother of four. She still has two kids in school. Her son is
20 years old with special needs and attends school. She’s also a first grade teacher in the New Lebanon school district.
NEWS10 ABC reporter Anya Tucker asked how she felt when she learned schools were closed for the remainder of the academic year.
“So my heart sank. But I know that this is the way it needs to be,” she said.
For Shane, working from home has been frustrating.
“This is not why I want to do this. I want to be there. I want to be working. I want to be working with kids. But there will be an end to this.”
Anya: “Do you feel parents have more appreciation for you?”
Vicki: “I have heard that a lot. But I also tell my parents, too, We’re not only the teachers, they are too. It’s Teacher Appreciation Week for them as well.”
News10’s county-by-county coronavirus tracker
More coronavirus news from News10
Watch updates from officials
Important resources
Capital Region COVID-19 test sites
