Editorial—Thank you, Elmhurst University educators, keep it up

It could go without saying that this semester has been rough on everyone at the university. Especially at this point of the semester, when the workload is starting to pick up, we must pay special attention and give gratitude to those who have been working tirelessly to provide the best education these circumstances could offer.

In a regular school year, educators already dedicate a lot to providing students with an exceptional educational experience. Between the long hours planning lectures, to the late nights grading papers, we as students all had a teacher that went above and beyond for our success.

But now in the time of COVID-19, teachers have had to especially adapt — and some may have better than others. Teachers are experiencing similar issues that students have through all of this.

While you may feel stressed when your internet is slower than usual, making you late to your class Zoom call, teachers feel that and then some — they have approximately twenty students depending on them to get them the material they need.

Teachers are used to talking to a room full of faces — real people with expressions and body language. Now suddenly they must talk into a void, to the soulless, grayed-out icons on Blackboard Collaborate. 

Even though many Elmhurst University educators received training on how to teach in an online setting, that does not necessarily take away the difficulties that come with it. 

Finding the balance between giving students the quality education they’re paying for, while not overbearing and overwhelming them with their online workload is not easy. 

And these trying times are not only affecting students. Educators are also facing hardships; many of which have children of their own engaged in remote learning, and are experiencing the fear and the reality of catching COVID-19 too. 

We hope that teachers are receiving additional support throughout the semester. Just as how students did not envision their college experience going this way, this is not how most educators thought their careers would ever go.

Students, we hope that you can be patient and flexible with educators. If they do not respond to an email right away, take a while to grade your paper, or even drop the ball a few times, do not hold it against them. It most likely is not a reflection of their character, but rather of the times.

As many teachers have been flexible with students, they deserve the same flexibility back. However, if you feel like your teacher really is not being flexible with you at all, hold them accountable.

It may be difficult to translate some disciplines to an online setting. It may even feel like the workload is more than usual. 

Be sure to always be communicating not only to your teachers when things get tough, but also make use of any support systems and resources you can.

So to all of the educators of Elmhurst University, thank you for all you are doing to ensure that we still get the quality education we all desire and expect from the university.