Susan Writes

When this pandemic ends, will we do things differently?  Specifically, will we educate children differently?  School days for some teachers and students have been like never before.

            Because I wanted to understand remote learning better, I went back to Mrs. M’s virtual classroom.  Back on Zoom with 2^nd grade students for a math lesson.  Mrs. M greeted students after their one-hour lunch break and then said, “To practice three-digit subtraction, we’re going to begin with Kahoot!” All nine students cheered and I frowned. What is Kahoot?

            Mrs. M launched Kahoot, an application of quiz-based games presented with cartoon drawings of kid-friendly characters.  The first problem was 133-85.  Within two minutes, the students had worked the problem in their notebooks and used Chat, a message board, to write and send their answers to Mrs. M.  Only she could see their answers. 

            “I see you dancing!  Yes, get up and move when you finish,” Mrs. M said.  “Turn down a corner on the page where you worked the problem.  Your parents will take a picture and send it to me.  I want to see what strategy you used.”  Mrs. M then asked Annie, “What strategy did you use?” 

            Annie answered, “Plain old standardized algorithm.” She explained each step as Mrs. M worked the problem for all to see.  “You can’t take 5 from 3 so make the 3 in ones a 13 and the other 3 a 2,” Annie began.  She and Mrs. M talked through the problem saying the words regroup, borrow, and rename.  Mrs. M and her students talked about other methods: draw pictures, count up, and use a number line. 

            Remember working problems with yellow chalk on a blackboard while the teacher and classmates watched?  Are there advantages to remote learning?  Mrs. M has seen quiet, shy children become braver; maybe because only the teacher could see their answers. Mrs. M can meet with a student during lunch to give extra help while other students are offline.

            There is more parent-teacher communication that is easier and immediate.  When one student was confused, Mrs. M asked that his mother to stay on-line after the Zoom meeting so together they could figure out how to help this child.  Mrs. M says she can communicate with parents daily.

            As a retired elementary teacher, I’m thankful I never had to teach remotely and I admire Mrs. M and all teachers who are.  They are working double-time, some even teaching in their classrooms and remotely. 

            Is virtual learning here to stay?  Remote learning has been an option for high school students for years, but I don’t think virtual learning is the best learning environment for young children. 

             “If I were in Charge of the World” is one of my favorite poems.  And if I were, students and parents would have the option for a do-over.  Students who are in second grade now could be in second grade when the 2021-22 school year begins, no matter where they are spending their school days this year. 

            And they would all have a teacher like Mrs. M.

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