Forging new paths
My district just finished it's first week of content virtual teaching. We started the week before, slowly, with reach-out questions; we did those kind of things I might talk about with students before class really started. It was a way to see who could reach us, who might be having problems. It allowed parents of multiple children to ease into working together on school work more than what a teacher would send as "homework".
Last week was eye-opening for me. Here are just a few things I learned.
*I put out a Flipgrid just to say, "How are you?" I had kids responding with how hard this was for them. These 8th graders really need socialization, and they jumped at the chance to watch videos other students made. So lesson learned. I'm putting out at least one Flipgrid each week now. It isn't mandatory to view or respond. It does support what content I'm offering. More importantly, it allows two ways (written or video) to respond to the content.
*I learned to use, and did use, Screencastify. I orally went over the information I put out there. Students had it in written form, and then in me going over it. Watching that video wasn't required. They had all the information in the written form. I didn't want to put anyone who couldn't access it for whatever reason at a disadvantage. I got emails from students who said it was like sitting in the classroom. It helped them because they heard my voice AND saw the material at the same time. It reinforced my decision to do things that way.
*I held optional Zoom meetings, and I was surprised at who attended. I was shocked to see kids in the meetings, participating with how they are doing - the same kids who would come to class late, have a head on a desk, and generally tell me school wasn't worth their time. Full disclosure - some of those kids did NOTHING else during the week. They didn't do content work. What I learned was even though they told me how badly they didn't want to be at school, they still needed to interact with others.
*Some of my students told me they had tears when they heard my voice for the first time. I joked with them and said they didn't need to be that afraid. One girl really shocked me. She's not a girl who is happy in class; she's not generally a happy person, seemingly. She doesn't participating in class; she whines about what she's asked to do.
Each one of these things reinforced for me what I've known all along. Relationships matter - even the ones I don't know I'm making. The grumpy girl? I've always made sure to speak to her about something positive at least two times a week, and I've told her how glad I am when she's back from a day out sick. The kid who's coming to the Zoom meeting? I've tried to tell him how important he is in our class, and how I value his participation. The Screencastify comments - one came from a girl who always talks about how hard school is for her and how people don't seem to want to give her extra help. I made it a point to always look at her when I asked what quesitons I could answer. Sometimes, she'd ask one later, but she always knew I wanted her to let me know.
Teachers know relationships matter. Teachers know that. But we don't undersand how MUCH relationships matter until we get into a time like this. That extra bit we've worked on creating them within our classroom is paying off. Like I said last week, The Chickens Have Come Home to Roost.
Good luck as we continue in this strange new land of virtual teaching!
Last week was eye-opening for me. Here are just a few things I learned.
*I put out a Flipgrid just to say, "How are you?" I had kids responding with how hard this was for them. These 8th graders really need socialization, and they jumped at the chance to watch videos other students made. So lesson learned. I'm putting out at least one Flipgrid each week now. It isn't mandatory to view or respond. It does support what content I'm offering. More importantly, it allows two ways (written or video) to respond to the content.
*I learned to use, and did use, Screencastify. I orally went over the information I put out there. Students had it in written form, and then in me going over it. Watching that video wasn't required. They had all the information in the written form. I didn't want to put anyone who couldn't access it for whatever reason at a disadvantage. I got emails from students who said it was like sitting in the classroom. It helped them because they heard my voice AND saw the material at the same time. It reinforced my decision to do things that way.
*I held optional Zoom meetings, and I was surprised at who attended. I was shocked to see kids in the meetings, participating with how they are doing - the same kids who would come to class late, have a head on a desk, and generally tell me school wasn't worth their time. Full disclosure - some of those kids did NOTHING else during the week. They didn't do content work. What I learned was even though they told me how badly they didn't want to be at school, they still needed to interact with others.
*Some of my students told me they had tears when they heard my voice for the first time. I joked with them and said they didn't need to be that afraid. One girl really shocked me. She's not a girl who is happy in class; she's not generally a happy person, seemingly. She doesn't participating in class; she whines about what she's asked to do.
Each one of these things reinforced for me what I've known all along. Relationships matter - even the ones I don't know I'm making. The grumpy girl? I've always made sure to speak to her about something positive at least two times a week, and I've told her how glad I am when she's back from a day out sick. The kid who's coming to the Zoom meeting? I've tried to tell him how important he is in our class, and how I value his participation. The Screencastify comments - one came from a girl who always talks about how hard school is for her and how people don't seem to want to give her extra help. I made it a point to always look at her when I asked what quesitons I could answer. Sometimes, she'd ask one later, but she always knew I wanted her to let me know.
Teachers know relationships matter. Teachers know that. But we don't undersand how MUCH relationships matter until we get into a time like this. That extra bit we've worked on creating them within our classroom is paying off. Like I said last week, The Chickens Have Come Home to Roost.
Good luck as we continue in this strange new land of virtual teaching!
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