Alveena Nadeem
Editor
Masks on and six feet apart, parents arrived at Dyersburg High School on Thursday, September 10, for the parent-teacher conference. The coronavirus packed this age-old event with new experiences.
To maintain social distancing, parents arrived during specific time slots based on their child’s surname. Teachers also marked places where parents could stand while still keeping a safe distance from one another.
These precautions were important: many teachers think that the pandemic’s effects on students make parents’ attendance especially crucial.
“Some work is online and some of the kids are having trouble adjusting. COVID-19 has had a profound impact on some students’ abilities to submit assignments,” Math teacher Musa Manneh said.
In fact, some students and parents have specific pandemic-related issues they hope are addressed.
“[COVID-19] has adversely affected some students. This should be considered in their GPA because of the many changes that have been made and the uncertainty of everything,” junior Nellee Mae Rohrer said.
“I think parents’ main concern is that social distancing is maintained and people wear their masks the right way,” senior Kamil Yousuf said.
Though these problems may be temporary, Manneh thinks that other effects of the pandemic are more permanent and need to be discussed.
“I do think the virtual interactions between teachers and students are here to stay. We all need to adjust,” Manneh said.
In the midst of a pandemic, teachers and parents work together to improve not only the present, but also the future of Dyersburg High School.
Math teacher Musa Manneh uses Google Classroom and sanitizing sprays to create a safe yet active learning environment.
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