Unprecedented: Teaching in a Pandemic

By: Emily Schwickerath

Emily Schwickerath had been a dedicated educator for seven years, but never imagined that her career would come to a crossroads until the Covid-19 pandemic swept the nation in 2020. A sudden transition to remote learning would send her spiraling into an endless doubt about whether or not she could continue teaching now that everything was drastically different from what she had always known and loved. She finds herself unable to function due to such high levels of anxiety and fear, and eventually gains the courage to seek out the professional help she needed to live the life she knew she deserved.

About the Author

This memoir was written as an ode to the teachers, administrators, support staff, and parents who overcame the unprecedented wave of challenges that Covid-19 presented in 2020 and 2021. Capturing one teacher's experience with remote, hybrid, and in-person learning from March 2020- June 2021, Unprecedented: Teaching in a Pandemic showcases Emily Schwickerath's challenges she faced as the Covid-19 pandemic required schools to shut down immediately and find a way to function in a remote setting. Students around the globe were forced to learn from home regardless of the resources, the support system, the behavior or academic needs they had. All teachers and administrators also had to take everything they know to be true about what's best for kids and pivot to become virtual educators for the first time in our nation's history.

Schwickerath's primary reason for writing this book was as a means of reflection and preservation. She hopes that by sharing her story that others can relate, understand, or gain new perspectives about what the impact of remote learning and hybrid learning has been for teachers.