A school year with the COVID-19 pandemic as a backdrop is right around the corner and teachers are showing what classrooms now look like on social media.
The photos highlight the struggles instructors are facing as they balance pre-pandemic class sizes (which can be upwards of 25 kids) with social distancing measures.
School reopening plans vary for each province and territory but all involve some mix of physical distancing measures, personal hygiene best practices as well as face masks and personal protective equipment for staff and students.
However, schools in Alberta, Ontario and B.C. will not be required to lower class sizes for some grade levels.
The guidelines have placed some teachers’ unions at odds with provincial governments saying the plans put teachers at risk of getting sick, as with the case in Ontario.
Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam have called cases in schools “inevitable” and that reduced class sizes aren’t an option right now.
For more on the environment teachers and their students are stepping into, check out the video above.