Are there any other teachers who AREN'T freaking out about teaching virtually?

[Anonymous]

I teach HS math and belong to many online teaching groups where all the teachers are stressing out about teaching online this fall and talking about how busy they are preparing for it. I really don't get it. I taught over Zoom this spring and while there were some modification that needed to be made, it really wasn't terribly different than what would happen in class. In person, I have presentations that are displayed on my SmartBoard, on Zoom, I display the same presentations on my computer. I don't understand how it's THAT much work for other teachers to transition to teaching over Zoom. Obviously, I'm not referring to elementary school teachers who are leading reading groups, or teachers who teach subjects like FACS where they normally cook in class. But for HS teachers, who teach in the four core subject areas, we already have presentations that we use in the classroom, these can just as easily be shared on Zoom. There's not a tremendous amount of modifications that need to be made. Is most of the stressing out coming from the elementary teachers, and those who teach subjects like PE, Theater, that really need to be completely reworked?

[Anonymous]

If all you're doing is lecture then sure. Doesn't matter if it's in person or virtual. But many teachers do much more than lecture the whole time. Small groups, participation activities that need responses from students. Students learn a certain way when they are in a group and feed off each other's engagement. My SIL is a math professor at an Ivy and has studied and researched how to make virtual teaching and learning effective. And even at that level it's hard. She redid her whole course for next year. Kids need different kinds of breaks and motivation when learning is online as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach HS math and belong to many online teaching groups where all the teachers are stressing out about teaching online this fall and talking about how busy they are preparing for it. I really don't get it. I taught over Zoom this spring and while there were some modification that needed to be made, it really wasn't terribly different than what would happen in class. In person, I have presentations that are displayed on my SmartBoard, on Zoom, I display the same presentations on my computer. I don't understand how it's THAT much work for other teachers to transition to teaching over Zoom. Obviously, I'm not referring to elementary school teachers who are leading reading groups, or teachers who teach subjects like FACS where they normally cook in class. But for HS teachers, who teach in the four core subject areas, we already have presentations that we use in the classroom, these can just as easily be shared on Zoom. There's not a tremendous amount of modifications that need to be made. Is most of the stressing out coming from the elementary teachers, and those who teach subjects like PE, Theater, that really need to be completely reworked?

I think your teaching style is exactly why so many students hate math. This sounds dry, boring, unimaginative and just plan lousy lazy teaching. I hope your school has few teachers like you and more than realize teaching is more than putting up a presentation.

[Anonymous]

I'm not freaking out, but I know it will be much harder.

I DID freak out in March even though I've been teaching for decades. Things went fine though.

I just know that in the classroom, I can do so much and shift my lesson based on instinct and observations of the students. I can bring more energy or back off depending on how they respond. I can shift gears or try a new approach. I can be spontaneous while still teaching them. All of this is ten times harder (and perhaps even impossible) during DL. I'll do the best I can, but getting to know a new set of students in this situation will be challenging. However, I'm lucky to be at a small school that will make it easier to work with students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach HS math and belong to many online teaching groups where all the teachers are stressing out about teaching online this fall and talking about how busy they are preparing for it. I really don't get it. I taught over Zoom this spring and while there were some modification that needed to be made, it really wasn't terribly different than what would happen in class. In person, I have presentations that are displayed on my SmartBoard, on Zoom, I display the same presentations on my computer. I don't understand how it's THAT much work for other teachers to transition to teaching over Zoom. Obviously, I'm not referring to elementary school teachers who are leading reading groups, or teachers who teach subjects like FACS where they normally cook in class. But for HS teachers, who teach in the four core subject areas, we already have presentations that we use in the classroom, these can just as easily be shared on Zoom. There's not a tremendous amount of modifications that need to be made. Is most of the stressing out coming from the elementary teachers, and those who teach subjects like PE, Theater, that really need to be completely reworked?

I think your teaching style is exactly why so many students hate math. This sounds dry, boring, unimaginative and just plan lousy lazy teaching. I hope your school has few teachers like you and more than realize teaching is more than putting up a presentation.

NP. It’s likely OP is quite a good teacher, confident and competent in her subject. In modern education, schools always have kids do “group work.”

My kids hate group work. It’s a lousy way to learn.

I hope Zoom forces schools to return to more traditional ways of delivering knowledge. So long poster boards and group projects!

[Anonymous]

I also teach math albeit at the middle school level. In both my content and on my team I think we're all a little nervous about it but actually mostly excited about the change. It gives us some opportunity to experiment and we've been working this summer to see how we can integrate new technology into what we did this spring.

I think we're going to rock it. Our principal has been reinforcing that we did a great job this spring and that we should work on refining not completely redeveloping. Some of the parameters are changing but we will be able to adapt.

Right now the biggest limiters seem to be connectivity issues working out of our homes. Also some of us are lacking tools that we want like document cameras or white boards or science kits. I went ahead and my own white board and doc camera back in the spring so I feel like I'm in good shape. A few science teachers are hoping that they get at least a shot at running into their classrooms and grabbing a bunch of their lab tools. I told the science teacher on my team that I will be there with my kids to help the load out if the opportunity arises. The connectivity issue will continue to be a challenge for me because of where I live but I will have to keep crossing that bridge when it appears in front of me because I don't have any other choice.

I don't really know any teachers who are freaking out or upset. There are one or two teachers who want to be back in school full time with full classes like the old normal but they are the outliers. It is hard to put credence into their perspective since it goes against everything the CDC is saying about what is healthy.

All in all I think I am ready, my team is ready and my content area is ready. We will rise to the challenge and we will totally nail it.

[Anonymous]

Small group discussions are challenging. While you can do small “breakout room” groups, it’s not possible to see all kids at all times, therefore increasing the possibility of behavior. Which depending on the age of the kids, could be troublesome. While an adult can pop into the rooms, one person with 20 kids would be tricky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach HS math and belong to many online teaching groups where all the teachers are stressing out about teaching online this fall and talking about how busy they are preparing for it. I really don't get it. I taught over Zoom this spring and while there were some modification that needed to be made, it really wasn't terribly different than what would happen in class. In person, I have presentations that are displayed on my SmartBoard, on Zoom, I display the same presentations on my computer. I don't understand how it's THAT much work for other teachers to transition to teaching over Zoom. Obviously, I'm not referring to elementary school teachers who are leading reading groups, or teachers who teach subjects like FACS where they normally cook in class. But for HS teachers, who teach in the four core subject areas, we already have presentations that we use in the classroom, these can just as easily be shared on Zoom. There's not a tremendous amount of modifications that need to be made. Is most of the stressing out coming from the elementary teachers, and those who teach subjects like PE, Theater, that really need to be completely reworked?

I think your teaching style is exactly why so many students hate math. This sounds dry, boring, unimaginative and just plan lousy lazy teaching. I hope your school has few teachers like you and more than realize teaching is more than putting up a presentation.

NP. It’s likely OP is quite a good teacher, confident and competent in her subject. In modern education, schools always have kids do “group work.”

My kids hate group work. It’s a lousy way to learn.

I hope Zoom forces schools to return to more traditional ways of delivering knowledge. So long poster boards and group projects!

Agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

NP. It’s likely OP is quite a good teacher, confident and competent in her subject. In modern education, schools always have kids do “group work.”

My kids hate group work. It’s a lousy way to learn.

I hope Zoom forces schools to return to more traditional ways of delivering knowledge. So long poster boards and group projects!

Same! Group work is an oxymoron imo. I hated group work when I did it as a student and I never learned anything from it except how lazy some of my classmates were. I agree that it needs to go into the circular file and hopefully DL will help that happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also teach math albeit at the middle school level. In both my content and on my team I think we're all a little nervous about it but actually mostly excited about the change. It gives us some opportunity to experiment and we've been working this summer to see how we can integrate new technology into what we did this spring.

I think we're going to rock it. Our principal has been reinforcing that we did a great job this spring and that we should work on refining not completely redeveloping. Some of the parameters are changing but we will be able to adapt.

Right now the biggest limiters seem to be connectivity issues working out of our homes. Also some of us are lacking tools that we want like document cameras or white boards or science kits. I went ahead and my own white board and doc camera back in the spring so I feel like I'm in good shape. A few science teachers are hoping that they get at least a shot at running into their classrooms and grabbing a bunch of their lab tools. I told the science teacher on my team that I will be there with my kids to help the load out if the opportunity arises. The connectivity issue will continue to be a challenge for me because of where I live but I will have to keep crossing that bridge when it appears in front of me because I don't have any other choice.

I don't really know any teachers who are freaking out or upset. There are one or two teachers who want to be back in school full time with full classes like the old normal but they are the outliers. It is hard to put credence into their perspective since it goes against everything the CDC is saying about what is healthy.

All in all I think I am ready, my team is ready and my content area is ready. We will rise to the challenge and we will totally nail it.

So you live somewhere with bad WiFi?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If all you're doing is lecture then sure. Doesn't matter if it's in person or virtual. But many teachers do much more than lecture the whole time. Small groups, participation activities that need responses from students. Students learn a certain way when they are in a group and feed off each other's engagement. My SIL is a math professor at an Ivy and has studied and researched how to make virtual teaching and learning effective. And even at that level it's hard. She redid her whole course for next year. Kids need different kinds of breaks and motivation when learning is online as well.

Yes, but that is mainly when the students are doing their assignments. When students are being introduced to new material, it has to be through direct instruction. Especially subjects like HS math. Yes, many assignments will need to be adapted for online learning. But the meat and potatoes of the instruction, doesn't.

[Anonymous]

I teach third grade and I’m concerned about the ability to provide quality synchronous instruction to an entire class for 3.5 hours. In class I do more facilitating rather than teaching to the class. I can move about and observe the students while they work and help out as needed. I’m used to workshop models.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach HS math and belong to many online teaching groups where all the teachers are stressing out about teaching online this fall and talking about how busy they are preparing for it. I really don't get it. I taught over Zoom this spring and while there were some modification that needed to be made, it really wasn't terribly different than what would happen in class. In person, I have presentations that are displayed on my SmartBoard, on Zoom, I display the same presentations on my computer. I don't understand how it's THAT much work for other teachers to transition to teaching over Zoom. Obviously, I'm not referring to elementary school teachers who are leading reading groups, or teachers who teach subjects like FACS where they normally cook in class. But for HS teachers, who teach in the four core subject areas, we already have presentations that we use in the classroom, these can just as easily be shared on Zoom. There's not a tremendous amount of modifications that need to be made. Is most of the stressing out coming from the elementary teachers, and those who teach subjects like PE, Theater, that really need to be completely reworked?

I think your teaching style is exactly why so many students hate math. This sounds dry, boring, unimaginative and just plan lousy lazy teaching. I hope your school has few teachers like you and more than realize teaching is more than putting up a presentation.

You have any better ideas of how students are supposed to learn high level math without receiving a lot of explicit, direct instruction? It's not something kids just "discover" working in groups with each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach HS math and belong to many online teaching groups where all the teachers are stressing out about teaching online this fall and talking about how busy they are preparing for it. I really don't get it. I taught over Zoom this spring and while there were some modification that needed to be made, it really wasn't terribly different than what would happen in class. In person, I have presentations that are displayed on my SmartBoard, on Zoom, I display the same presentations on my computer. I don't understand how it's THAT much work for other teachers to transition to teaching over Zoom. Obviously, I'm not referring to elementary school teachers who are leading reading groups, or teachers who teach subjects like FACS where they normally cook in class. But for HS teachers, who teach in the four core subject areas, we already have presentations that we use in the classroom, these can just as easily be shared on Zoom. There's not a tremendous amount of modifications that need to be made. Is most of the stressing out coming from the elementary teachers, and those who teach subjects like PE, Theater, that really need to be completely reworked?

I think your teaching style is exactly why so many students hate math. This sounds dry, boring, unimaginative and just plan lousy lazy teaching. I hope your school has few teachers like you and more than realize teaching is more than putting up a presentation.

NP. It’s likely OP is quite a good teacher, confident and competent in her subject. In modern education, schools always have kids do “group work.”

My kids hate group work. It’s a lousy way to learn.

I hope Zoom forces schools to return to more traditional ways of delivering knowledge. So long poster boards and group projects! [/quote]


Hear, hear. I'm hoping for this as well. So much of these constructionts activities that those in charge of instructing teachers love, are massive wastes of time.

[Anonymous]

I teach middle school and teaching virtually is the least of my worries. I find it so much easier than teaching in person since you can actually focus on the content and building relationships.