I
survived my first full week of teaching online. I am happy to be alive and able
to write about it.
Here is the grim reality of Virtual
School. Teachers have to implement 240 minutes of synchronous learning. They talk about group work, but
apparently each group needs supervision which is impossible. For example, I can
break my class into smaller groups and send them off into “breakout rooms”;
however, I am supposed to keep an eye on all the groups! It is a safety issue - what if a student gets cyberbullied and what if
students use inappropriate language while in those groups? So, that means I
am stuck with the Socratic method of teaching! Just imagine that! On top of this, there are no pleasant breaks for
Phys Ed, Art, Music or French. It is Language, Math, Science and Social Studies
- 4 subjects coming at the students every single day from 1 teacher in an
almost regimented way.
Obviously,
the above is true for my Grade 8 class. I can’t speak for other teachers and
other virtual classrooms.
Virtual School requires skills that
some seasoned teachers may lack. These teachers have knowledge and experience
and a great collection of resources which could definitely help; but they need
to feel comfortable with technology and a new approach to teaching. For
example, in a classroom, when students finish the work assigned to them
quickly, teachers can ask them to read a book or give them a worksheet to do to
keep them busy while they wait for the rest of the class to finish. Online, it doesn’t
work quite that way - if a student gets assigned independent work, that student
could figuratively “leave the building”!
Then there is the very real reality of
the dreaded word - equity. My students are from a “high needs” neighbourhood.
Not even a quarter of them have cameras on their devices. I have seen only 4
faces. Half of them or even more do not have microphones. I have heard maybe 6
voices. It is a mostly faceless and voiceless classroom. The students are typing away furiously and I am trying to read as the
Public Chat scrolls down rather fast and messages “disappear” from the screen.
Their internet connections are laggy
and sometimes they can’t hear me. How
much are these kids really learning?
I have my own challenges as I don’t
have resources. I have spent about $400 or so, within the last 10 days, buying
textbooks and other material. I found out 2 or 3 days ago what my pay looks
like. Since I am a new teacher, I am at the lowest end. When I break it down by
the hour (based on my 12-14 hours day), I will make way less than minimum wage
for the next 9 months. My contract ends on June 29, 2021.
I
hope the pandemic ends before that!
Since this is the Canadian
Thanksgiving weekend, I want to end on a thankful note. The last student to
leave the classroom yesterday left the following note for me:
“Have a great thanksgiving Ms T You
deserve it You are a great teacher”
That’s exactly how it was written on the “whiteboard” in paint. That’s one kid’s kind words. I will take that for now and keep going!
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