Reflections on Remote Learning

It's been 5 weeks of Remote Learning, and we have 2 more to go.  

Often on the last day of class, I ask students to reflect back on the year and provide feedback after they've completed their semester exam.  I plan to do that this year, too, though we aren't giving exams.  In addition to the questions I usually ask, I'm going to ask students what they found most difficult about remote learning, and what things they wish they could keep when we return to some form of in person school.

Thinking about this got me reflecting about some of the positives of this new learning environment.  

My school district has adopted a Monday-Thursday schedule and has encouraged teachers to focus on asynchronous learning because students' home situations vary, and they might not all be able to attend a live video lesson on Tuesday morning at 9:25.  Teachers have "office hours" from 9-11 AM and 1-2 PM when they are available online to answer questions via email, Canvas message, or Google Meet.  

I've found this schedule to be calmer than my in person school routine (and I only work half time!), perhaps because I'm introverted.  Here are some of the positives for me:

• I don't have to get up at 5:30 anymore.  I can sleep until 6:30 or 7 and even go for a run before school.
• I can use the bathroom when I need to.  
• Teaching multiple sections of the same prep is much less tiring - I'm recording a lesson only once, rather than teaching it two or three times.
• Patrolling for cell phone use, which was a huge (and tiring!) part of daily classroom management, is no longer part of my job.
• A 2 hour lunch break lets me eat at a relaxed pace and even go for a walk after lunch.

I miss working with students in person, but I think this schedule is better for my overall health - if you leave out the stress of a global pandemic, of course!

I read an article yesterday about How to Reopen Schools Amid Coronavirus. Among the things mentioned were smaller class sizes.  Classes with only 12 to 15 students would be amazing!  

Schoolchildren have lunch at the Korshoejskolen Public school in Randers, Denmark. Denmark began reopening schools on April 15.
Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/04/23/gettyimages-1210034619_slide-adff93055917aebc5ed6b88550f6327099963c34-s800-c85.jpg

It would be great if we used this crisis as an opportunity to think about what works and what doesn't in our public schools and to make some changes.  It could be done - we just have to decide how important educating our children really is to us.