Media mentions: Smagorinsky and Jones discuss COVID-19's effect on college enrollment; Delgado-Romero discusses Latinx identity

Smagorinsky and Jones discuss COVID-19’s effect on college enrollment

Peter Smagorinsky, Distinguished Research Professor of English Education and professor emeritus in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, and Stephanie Jones, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice, discussed how the COVID-19 fallout will affect enrollment in colleges of education with the AJC.

According to the article, in August, 32% of teachers said they are likely to leave their jobs this year even though they would have been unlikely to do so prior to the pandemic. In comparison, only a few months earlier in May, 12% felt that way.

“I am sure there will be a dip until schools are safe from this deadly virus," Smagorinsky said. “Many prospective teachers know teachers in their families and friendship circles, so they are hearing first-hand how callous many administrators are about their well-being.”

While Smagorinsky says he worries fewer young people will pursue a profession where they will be unappreciated, UGA’s education classes remain populated.

Jones believes the treatment of teachers during the pandemic could expand teacher unions. She also said young people may be called to education careers after living the “pain of the pandemic, systemic racism, systemic misogyny, economic despair, and polarized social and political divisions.”

“After living through the short-lived hero status in the spring of 2020 and then being forced to do the impossible in the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021, teachers will be hyperaware of the essential role they play in this country’s overall economy and realize the power they could wield when they act as a collective,” Jones said. “As working conditions improve in classrooms and school buildings, more people will feel that teaching can be a sustainable and fulfilling career.”

Read the full story on the AJC website.

Delgado-Romero discusses Latinx identity with ATHistory podcast

Edward Delgado-Romero, associate dean for faculty and staff services and professor of counseling psychology, discussed belonging, Latinx identity, wholeness, and history with Athens-Clarke County’s ATHistory podcast.

When Delgado-Romero moved to Georgia 14 years ago, he saw a need for mental health services for Latinx people. To address this need, he created a Spanish language clinic, La Clinica In LaK’ech, that offers bilingual and bicultural counseling to Latinx people in Georgia.

“People who come to Athens as immigrants for the first time are kind of isolated within their community,” he said. “They don’t have an extended network. But sitting down with a stranger, who promises they will not ever tell what you’re about to say to anyone else, can be liberating.”

Listen to the full interview on the Athens-Clarke County YouTube channel.