Kenna Tasissa, who died unexpectedly Jan. 21, was a sociology major in the Class of 2021 from Cary, North Carolina. She was enrolled in the Secondary Teacher Preparation Program in the Program in Education at Duke and hoped to become a high school social studies teacher after graduation. Tasissa was also working to earn a certificate in markets and management.
What challenges have you faced during COVID?
In my classroom setting, masks have been challenging. So much of my students’ learning comes from seeing my facial expressions and my mouth as I form words and letter sounds. It’s also challenging when I speak, because the mask muffles the sound and some of my students already have difficulty hearing.
What has helped you navigate this time?
Being more gracious with myself. It can be frustrating when Zoom doesn’t work, or a well-thought-out lesson doesn’t go as planned. However, my mantra this year is focusing on what I can control. I can control how I show up for my kids. I can control the content I provide knowing that I am doing my best for each student on my roster.
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Here’s where and what you can tune into, engage with and give back to leading up to and on the holiday.
WATCH:
Promo art for the 2021 Long Beach MLK Virtual Day of Celebration and Service.
Forgoing its annual parade this year, the city of Long Beach will host a virtual, two-hour livestream featuring local music, art and community and civic voices celebrating the legacy and lessons of King, curated by DreamKreator Studio, a local media company. The event will be facilitated by the recently elected Councilwoman Suely Saro and Leadership Long Beach.
You can tune into see the livestream which begins at 10 a.m. and will last until noon at www.dreamkreator.org, www.LeadershipLB.org and www.beachcityradio.com
Why remote learning has been a headache for some Spanish speaking families in NC
Jan. 15 More from the series
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Why remote learning has been a headache for some Spanish speaking families in NC
This story is part of The Lost Year, an occasional series on how the pandemic is affecting education across North Carolina.
Like other families, Patricia Obregon and her 8-year-old son, Gael, find virtual classes and test-taking to be a constant pain.
It doesn t help that most of their school district s online systems are in English.
Gael is one of about 9,300 students in Durham Public Schools whose home language is Spanish. At 33.2%, DPS has the largest proportion of Hispanic students of any school district in the Triangle, according to district data.
Nicholas Brown, a 16-year-old junior at Jordan High School in Durham, discussed his experiences interacting with School Resource Officers. (Screenshot from Zoom presentation)
Nicholas Brown, a junior at Jordan High School in Durham, has had the uncomfortable experience of being followed to class by school resource officers hired by the district who are supposed to make students and staff feel safe.
Brown, 16, wasn’t doing anything wrong, just moving from one class to another to attend a study session or to take a teacher-approved restroom break.
“It puts us on guard,” said Brown. “It’s uncomfortable as a Black male to have officers come up to you during the day.”