Welcome

Hi, welcome to my blog! My name is Olivia Solomon and I'm a current senior at Duquesne University in the School of Education, studying Secondary Mathematics Education, while also pursuing a separate Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics through the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts. I am also a member of the Honors College, for which this blog is created for. Outside of school, I have been employed as a K-12 mathematics tutor for ten months, and before the pandemic I completed nearly fifty hours of classroom observation (See "About Me" for a more in-depth biography). 

As a pre-service teacher, I have noticed first-hand the trials and tribulations that tenured educators have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. From navigating new technology, holding hybrid classes, and working with local and national mask and safety mandates (just to name a few), educators truly had many challenges to overcome for the past fifteen months. With the world coming to an abrupt halt, teachers had to become creative and flexible by means of delivering information to students as if it were a normal year in vastly contrasting circumstances. They truly had the worlds' eyes on them to continue to educate their students so they weren't behind in curriculum. Though educators of all levels have been put through stressful and intense circumstances, there certainly is a silver lining to everything the past year or so has brought for education as a whole. From a greater appreciation and usage of tools such as instructional technologies, the hybrid model of instruction, and different means of communication with students, there are many ways this pandemic has taught us to change the classroom environment going forward, and that will be my primary focus through this blog. 

Image source: https://www.wvxu.org/post/what-teachers-have-learned-pandemic-education#stream/0