This week I will be the tour guide for Brenna Clark Gray’s “Digital Detox #6: Build Back Better.” I will be focusing on Gray’s mention of the lack of care at the institutional level. With the current ongoing pandemic, it should come as no surprise that students have encountered difficulties with schooling. Through the quick shift from face-to-face instruction to virtual learning, students are exhausted but let’s not only think of them. Educators are the ones presenting these new technological tools to their students, knowing that they will pose difficulties. Due to the restrictions placed on students and teachers, institutions are making decisions without knowing the impact their choices have. It is apparent that teachers and students should be at the forefront of decision-making as they utilize these tools.
Without the pave the way for vocalized expression, educators are exhausted. There is a never-ending cycle of burnout that teachers are experiencing to which Gray hints at through the mention of moral injury. Teachers are aware of the technological tools’ effects, but these effects cannot be discussed. Teachers are going against their morals and beliefs for the sake of their job without having someone to lean on. Life after the pandemic is not going back to any normalcy that we once had; therefore, how do we enact care at the institutional level? The reading makes it clear that if it didn’t work then, it wouldn’t work in the future; therefore, change is needed now.
An in-depth look into my thoughts on this week’s reading can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12U4ourghqP5hoVO9IBHlAe5J7txQj5h2EoatQJ-q7Eo/edit