Maybe it’s not exactly 33, but I did a quick count looking at the school calendar, and that’s the number I counted up to.
I don’t think there is a teacher in the United States who will disagree with me when I say that this year is by far the most challenging year I’ve ever taught.
I am currently teaching 3 groups of students, simultaneously. I have approximately 10 in class, 10 online, and a handful that are 100% online for all classes. And this list changes on the daily. (Our school allows students to move between hybrid and online with a 48 hour notice.)
Consequently, I have decided to run my classes in a way I had never before imagined. Live streaming.
Yes, I could put together a bunch of videos for the at-home kids. Yes, I could do the classic switcheroo plan (have independent at-home assignments and in-class assignments) but I’ll still have those kiddos who are 100% at home. I want to give those kids the best experience possible and by that I mean: human connection.
Since day 1, I have been live streaming my 90 minute block classes and I have to say, it’s going a lot better than I had expected. I’m not nearly as tired as I thought I would be. The kids have said that they enjoy it (even though they are starting to say they’d prefer it were less than 90 minutes at some point here soon…). And moreover, the kids are actually acquiring Spanish. Like, lots.
I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on things that have been going well and to share them with other teachers in case they are needing some grounding, some new ideas, or simply some support.*
Here are my top 5 lessons learned since kicking off AY 2020/21 (Read the full post here on Medium.com)
Becky Hopkinson 