How are teachers dealing with online learning?
Algebra teacher Norio Kaneko shows us his set up for online teaching.
The classroom has been transported into a computer and faces have been replaced by black screens. All you hear is silence, unwanted background noises, the typing of your fingers, and the clicking of your mouse.
This school year has brought a multitude of challenges for students. We know that they have a variety of tasks to do such as attend their virtual classes, complete assignments, and study.
However, classes are being held by teachers, so what does online learning look like for them?
This is how history/economics/government teacher Kathy Van Dusen first reacted to online learning: “Well, it wasn’t a good one… because I really like interacting with students. That’s why I became a teacher because I love learning and I love working with people so it’s a little different.”
What started as a two-week spring break resulted in seven months’ worth of virtual learning. This allowed for new concepts, strategies, and struggles to evolve. Getting ready for this school year meant receiving training and getting familiar with the software.
Van Dusen said, “I took some online teaching courses. I tried to get more familiar with Zoom. We had meetings, a lot of mandatory school meetings, and some professional development meetings.”
Now that school has started, teachers have had a new schedule which has been crammed with endless work.
“Well, instead of teaching 90 minutes, I’m teaching 60 minutes. We have a break, it’s not even a break! I’m actually working longer than ever before. Sometimes, I end up doing more non-teaching work than teaching,” said algebra teacher Norio Kaneko.
In addition to this, he mentions that one of the hardest things is managing time.
“You have like thousands of things you can do as a teacher, but you don’t have the time for. You just have to know which one is more important,” Kaneko said.
In regards to their teaching and planning for their classes, it seems that the situation can go both ways.
Kaneko said, “I’m going to teach the way I always teach…Teaching Algebra 2 is still teaching Algebra 2, it doesn’t change.”
However, Van Dusen says that there is, “a lot of experimentation, to see what works.”
She said, “With students not having their cameras on it’s just kind of like the blind leading the blind, you just have to try it and wait to see what is produced.”
But there is more than what meets the eye– at the end of the day, our teachers are humans too. They are struggling just as much as we are.
“Definitely, there’s anxiety, I woke up early and started thinking ‘Ok how am I going to do this? How am I going to teach this? I’ve done this before but not this way.’ It’s not healthy for me to wake up at four in the morning and start thinking about it. It’s not healthy at all,” said Kaneko.
Amidst all the commotion and challenges, it seems that these two teachers have similar goals that keep them going.
Van Dusen said, “To do my best for the students, that would be my goal.”
I guess I just make sure you guys learn something…I wanna look at myself and say, ‘Ok, I’m doing the best I can.’” — Norio Kaneko
To anyone that is having a hard time right now, Van Dusen reminds us to “Stay strong, stay focused, and stay grateful…always thinking about what we’re grateful for then we can have a positive attitude even though we are going through a difficult situation.”
Just know that our teachers are all going through the same thing that we are. We are in this together.
I love strawberries, my favorite animal is a polar bear, and my favorite color is gray.
Super well written article! I am so impressed with her skill. It is a real tough time for all of us but our future still exist so let’s do our best
to prepare for it!
I agree with all of the topics that were talked about in this article. Yes, for many of us it was a struggle or maybe even a struggle up to this point but I’m glad that we are still learning through rough times. Even though it may be challenging at times, we can all get through it with perseverance and motivation. Great Article!
I really enjoyed this article and I think you wrote it in the perfect way. I don’t think you could of said any other way, I agree and I can feel what the teachers are struggling through and all that they have to do so they can teach us through zoom. Teaching behind a screen is not easy and it is also not easy seeing that there students are black screens. But with all of this I know that our teachers at Middle College are strong and I know that they will go through this, and all of us hope this can end soon. Great Job (: !!!!!!!
Well written article, I enjoyed reading the perspectives on how teachers are dealing with the whole online learning experience and what they think about it. I think some of the biggest problems the teachers are having is getting students to turn on their cameras and participate, having to try out new ways of teaching something they usually taught a different way, and for some even getting familiar with Zoom and how it works. Even thought it’s been tough, we will make it through this soon and be back to normal.
I really liked that you took the time to look at both sides to this issue. The students side and the teachers side. At the end of the day no one expected any of this to happen but we sure are making the best of it.
I agree that no one expected 2 weeks to turn into 7 months of quarantine but we’re still trying to make the best out of online learning as much as we can. It’s different than being able to interact and socialize in person but it’s better than nothing.
I love how you changed the perspective and showed that teachers are also struggling through these difficult times. Teachers are really under a lot of stress and it makes us realize that we should be patient with them. Some teachers may find it difficult to navigate software and it makes it challenging to educate the class. We must come together during these times and try to make the best out of this unfortunate situation. Excellent article I really enjoyed reading it. Keep up the great work!
This article was very interesting and I liked it. It shows that teachers are also struggling during online learning. Both students and teachers are getting stressed which is very overwhelming. Even though these times are tough we must learn to comprehend one another and try to go with the flow.
I enjoyed reading the article and it feels good to know that students aren’t the only ones who are struggling with online learning. I also enjoyed hearing our teachers perspectives on online learning since I didn’t think much would have changed.
I think that getting the teacher’s perspective on this difficult change was a great idea. It gives us a window to see how teachers feel during these times. It’s important to understand that they are going through the same thing we are and are trying their best to get through their classes.
I never really thought that COVID has caused a lot of stress and anxiety in teachers, especially in how they are going to teach the course material to their students as Kaneko has mentioned. I figured teachers would have more time on their hands with the time of their classes shortened from 90 minutes to 60 minutes but I guess not, that is quite interesting. I really liked reading your article, keep up the good work Esme!