COVID-19 has affected the 2021-2022 school year for teachers in many ways, even Hidden Valley High School (HVHS) social studies teacher Mrs. Weaver. Loved by her students because of her passion for teaching while including her own innovation to make her class unlike any other, many of Covid’s unexpected impacts have caused Mrs. Weaver to change her teaching methods. Some changes were direct results of the virus, but Mrs. Weaver also confessed that changes in her mindset were other large factors that contributed to the adaptations in her class.  

  Mrs. Weaver has been teaching social studies at HVHS for eighteen years. She says that she “enjoys teaching social studies and couldn’t imagine teaching any other topic.” Currently, in the 2021-2022 school year, she teaches Advanced World History I and Ap World History II. However, Mrs. Weaver states that if she could teach any class, she would teach a master class on World War II.   

Of her many years of teaching, this past year was by far the strangest. In the 2020-2021 school year, students and teachers had to learn to adapt to online school. Some fundamental changes in her classes were new additions such as online lectures, online submissions, and not having full classroom (with the school being on a hybrid schedule).  

She has kept many of the methods that she used in the 2020-2021 school year, but the social studies teacher feels that, “this year we are slowly getting back into a more traditional education.” With students coming back full time for the 2021-2022 school year, Mrs. Weaver is anticipating reverting back to some of her old teaching methods like group projects, in-class activities, and group discussions about relevant topics.   

Mrs. Weaver also has many philosophies about teaching that shape her class. One of her leading philosophies is her emphasis on current events. She believes that in order to fully understand history from the past, you have to connect it to events in the present. A philosophy that has stuck with her throughout COVID-19 and in previous years is that, above all, she wants her students to feel comfortable in her class. She highlights, “You want students to come into the room, and while they don’t necessarily want to be in school, you don’t want them to hate it. You don’t want them to feel uncomfortable; you don’t want them to feel like they don’t belong here.” 

However, she has also edited some of her beliefs. One of which is that she has chosen to focus on the mental health of her students more. The Coronavirus has directed her attention to external factors that affect students’ daily lives. In the coming years, she wants to keep the new mindset that she gained during the pandemic. 

Throughout the changes that COVID-19 has brought, Mrs. Weaver has maintained her effort to make learning fun and accessible. She has adjusted her class to COVID-19 while keeping the core aspects of her curriculum the same to give students the well-loved environment that makes her class special. We can expect changes and similarities in her teaching style from previous years, but one thing is for certain: COVID-19 has affected how Mrs. Weaver teaches now and those effects will carry on into future years.