If you're teaching college during the pandemic, it's really important to remember that some of your students may be in this situation, and that it's your job to lighten their load. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/04/parenting/covid-pandemic-mothers-primal-scream.html

And being there for students with childcare issues doesn't just mean responding well when they bring them up, because they may not trust you enough to bring them up. It means saying—and showing!—that you can be trusted to work with them from Day One.

It means telling them it's okay to leave their video cameras off. It means telling them they won't be penalized if they have to dip out of class. It means making class audio available. It means making it clear that you're not going to be upset if you hear a kid in the background.

It means setting up schedules and deadlines and assignments and tests so that they don't have to ask for accommodations if life gets in the way—so that flexibility in response to unexpected crises is built in for all students automatically.

It means (if you have the ability to do so without undermining yourself or putting yourself in jeopardy) speaking out about the ways in which our current situation is challenging for YOU, to let students know this isn't just a one way street.

It took me a ridiculously long time to have this insight, but: MAYBE PUT THE FACT THAT WE'RE LIVING THROUGH A GLOBAL PANDEMIC IN YOUR SYLLABUS as context for discussing how you're going to be handling online ed?

And if you're a guy, be as explicit and emphatic as you can when mentioning childcare issues as something you're sensitive to. Because you can't assume that your students will assume that you understand that.

From my spring syllabus: "I know that some of you probably haven’t taken online classes before, and that others may have had bad experiences with the switch to online education last year. There’s no question that this is challenging and difficult. …

"But I want to let you know at the outset of our semester that I am committed to getting us through it together—to making our classes enjoyable and educational, to bringing everyone along, and to making sure that everyone gets the best grade possible. …

"That’s going to involve some compromises and some creativity on my part, but it’s my job to get you through this, and I take that responsibility seriously."