EQUITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM


BY GORDON NORE There’s somethin’ happenin’ here


But what it is ain’t exactly clear ...


I think it’s time we stop Children, what’s that sound? Everybody look What’s going down?


– For What It’s Worth by Stephen Stills (1966)


lthough I sought my Grade 5 virtual


assignment under a


family medical accommo- dation endorsed by


our physician, it was a position


I wanted and would have volunteered for. My experience of emergency remote learn- ing last spring had been satisfying. As the teacher-librarian and drama/dance teacher, I had to re-imagine my assignment in a way that made sense for a truncated teaching day directed by homeroom teachers. Instead of books, I loaned myself to virtual classes to provide support. I helped Grade 5 students in two classes with their written work and collaborated with one teacher on her lessons. I found time to make a read-aloud video each day, which usually included me, instru- ment in hand, singing songs that my students had learned in the library. And I passed on tech tips and workarounds to my colleagues.


18 ETFO VOICE | WINTER 2020 A question persisted for me throughout


the summer as I prepared myself for virtual education of the size and scope we have now realized: How do we do this equitably? In bricks and mortar schooling, we can some- times simply hand needed resources to chil- dren who don’t have them. We can learn from our students’ stories and provide culturally relevant programming. We can observe the impacts of our instruction in real time and make adjustments. In a virtual classroom, this entire process needs to work differently. There was a simple place to start. Over my


years in the library, I’ve acquired a number of items that I put on display to mark various observances – from Halloween to Kwanzaa, Pesach and Pride. Simply acknowledging spe- cial days is the low-hanging fruit of equity and diversity work, but it’s a starting point. Just prior to the first day of learning, I


made a welcome video for families. The video opened with my camera panning our back- to-school display as I narrated my greeting to children and parents. With leaves strewn


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