Everyone, with and without school age children, is quite aware of the new learning from home policy currently in place across New York due to the Corona virus. The parameters are continuously evolving and now assignments are graded while the New York State Regents exams are canceled. Parents are trying to find a new routine, balancing a commitment to help their children log on and complete assignments while maybe working from home, or devising a strategy for finding groceries and necessities during a time when stores request only one family member enter their business. Families, in all their configurations, are forced to abandon even their most basic daily routines and quickly find ways to play a larger role in providing remote access to their child’s education while answering questions about the virus, why they can no longer play with friends, or visit with beloved family.

Simultaneously, teachers at all grade levels, who have created lesson plans designed to teach students in a classroom environment had to quickly change lanes and devise strategic methods to relay the same information in a digital platform. However, facilitating learning is not an impersonal, direct, or siloed activity; teachers make connections with their students, respond to their various needs, and adjust to increase interest in the subject matter.

Four teachers from the Pine Bush Central School District shared a brief overview of what they are going through on the other side of the computer screen. Aileen Semonick, second grade teacher at EJ Russell Elementary with 23 years of teaching experience, Katie Green has been teaching for eight years and teaches eighth grade English as well as AIS Media Literacy, Melissa Prendys has been teaching for seven years, is the team leader for the 7th grade Gold team at Crispell Middle School and teaches English along with AIS Media Literacy, and teaching for 16 years, Dr. Michael Raucci is the Science Department chair at Pine Bush High School and teaches medical sciences for students from freshmen year to seniors all participated via socially distant interviews for this article.

Asked if the number of work hours has increased, all four teachers were unanimously in agreement. In addition to learning the new platforms, each noted other aspects adding to the school day. Green explains, “I would say that this is a different type of work.  When you are teaching six classes a day, you are facilitating learning in real time and are able to help your students and give them guidance throughout the whole class period.  At home, we have to be creative and find new ways to ‘interact’ and provide clarification and support for our students. For many of us that means creating new resources like videos or demonstrations that can make their experience a little bit closer to normal.  There is a huge learning curve as we seek out different platforms and technologies we can use to make this happen. There is a lot more time spent exploring these possibilities and resources and experimenting to see what will work with our teaching style and goals and, most importantly, for our students.”

Prendys adds, “When we were first told we would be teaching online we had to drop a lot of our old material/lesson plans and redesign them so these lessons would be functional in the digital world. I am very fortunate the majority of my material was already digital. I was not concerned about how to present the material to students however, I was concerned with how I was going to present the instructional aspect. I spent a few days trying to figure out if Google Meet was the best way to give a lesson or if I should have pre-recorded lessons.  After a week of collaborating with my colleagues while communicating with my students via Google Meet and pre-recorded lessons, I am finding the use of both formats will be appropriate.” 

Building on the theme around finding the best method for presenting lessons, Raucci shared he includes a small video of himself, “like a little talking head in the corner of the screen,” for students during lessons. Part of the challenges he identified are also around teaching students in person. “The feedback mechanism is not the same speed as in a physical classroom.”

Maintaining their unique personality, finding resources, and adhering to the curriculum are all challenges teachers face when building their new virtual classrooms solved with a bit of individual discovery as well as peer found solutions.

“We have a curriculum map that we follow. We have instructional coaches for ELA, math, and science. Instructional and technology coaches have provided us with useful resources. Reading instruction has been the most challenging for me so far, as I need to find good resources as well as differentiate instruction for my students so they are working at their level. Many companies have offered free resources during this time of distance learning. A number of teachers use, ‘Teachers pay Teachers,’ which has a wealth of resources created by teachers and include both free materials and some requiring payment. There are so many resources out there it can be overwhelming to choose,” said Semonick.

Regarding special education needs, Prendys explained, “Our co-teachers were asked to share what a student’s IEP (Instructional Educational Plan) accommodations and modifications would look like digitally. This has been incredibly helpful in guiding our lessons.”

Being able to allow the teacher’s individuality to come through was top of mind for Raucci in describing a teacher’s train of thought when planning lessons, “What’s the best way for you personally to deliver this information and educate the students and it may be different from teacher to teacher, every teacher has a personality, every student has a personality and every classroom has a personality – find the best method.”

Asked how they are interacting with students and parents, Semonick responded, “Right now I’m interacting with students and parents through e-mail and my Google classroom.”

Green said, “I am trying to make videos that can help clarify directions for my students and keep our lines of communication open.  For me, that means doing a weekly update explaining what to expect in the next week. More importantly though, I am trying to create other resources that make things fun and keep the same rapport I would normally have in my classroom.  I recorded a week-long series of book talks to post for my students to encourage them to read while they are at home and made my first weekly update in the style of ‘Masterpiece Theater.’ I have to keep things fun!” 

Raucci added, “Communication is pretty important right now, certainly we want to educate, but also everyone is stressed including students and parents. The schools can be a very comforting outlet for both students and parents, and I see that with Mr. Mains offering his daily fireside chat. It’s beneficial for us to hear back from the students and so mostly we communicate online and then if not, we will go to phone calls.”

Finally, Prendys said, “I have also provided Google Meet sessions for my students to clarify any questions they have regarding any of the posts I’ve made or the phone calls they have received from the school. I have been communicating with parents through email or phone calls. Pine Bush truly has a great support system. 

Parents have had a lot of questions regarding their child’s grade and how they can get better access to seeing their child’s grade. I highly suggest that parents sign up to their child’s Google Classroom so they can receive weekly updates on how their child did on their lessons/assignments for the week.” 

Interacting with their peers has proven essential. Science Department Chair, Raucci shared, “I am interacting with all of my science teachers regularly through conference calls, and I send out summary emails which can be up to five pages long and that might go out twice per week.”

Semonick agrees, “I do conference with my peers, almost daily, through email, text messages, and Google Hangouts. They have been a life-line for getting through all of the changes, with work and emotionally.”
We know teachers are missing their students terribly and the same is true for the students.  When asked how they are easing this emotional aspect, the human experience returns despite the physical distance evoked from a virtual classroom.

“I like to use humor and I like to use recorded lessons and liven it up with a little bit of humor and so they expect that from me and they watch the videos waiting to hear that from me,” responded Raucci.

“I am trying to keep things fun and provide things outside of our normal assignments.  Our media class organized a video of teachers sending messages and well wishes to students as well as a montage of our ‘new coworkers’ with pictures of pets and family members so that we could all ‘see’ each other and keep our spirits up.  I am trying to stay positive and see this as an opportunity to learn new things and push myself to be a better teacher for my students,” answered Green.

Semonick said, “I do miss my students terribly, there has been some communication through email and Google Classroom. My goal is to begin having Google Hangouts with small groups of students at a time, if they wish. It helps me tremendously just to have a parent put a small note in an email, like ‘she misses you too,’ it goes a long way for me. Our building principals coordinated a virtual spirit day, encouraging staff and students to post pictures of themselves in spirit wear or school colors on our Google classroom. They posted their own pictures and we followed their lead. It’s a comfort to see their faces, coworkers and students alike.”

“It has been really hard to be away from my students. I always make sure to answer any emails or comments off Google Classroom with a positive note and mention that I miss them. Also, I worked closely with the other AIS Media Literacy teacher to create videos for our students to watch. Our first video had many of their teachers sending positive messages from home to our students.  In addition, I am keeping in the practice of sending positive messages home through a postcard. My team, as well as the other teams in the building, have been sending positive messages home to students all year long. There is certainly no reason to stop that now,” shared Prendys.

Asked about the possibility of a bright side or silver lining to teaching remotely, all four teachers were able to find positive answers.

Raucci noted, “A lot of educators are connecting with each other and sharing. Typically teachers can be islands once they get to their classroom they may not see many teachers during the day and we don’t get to interact the way we would like to, but have more interaction now.”

“The Silver lining is that I am learning more about utilizing technology for presenting information, communicating, and evaluating student work,” shared Semonick.

With a bit of humor, Prendys said, “I get to use the bathroom whenever I would like. This might sound silly, but it is an amazing feeling. I would also say many of us have realized we can count on others when we need help. A colleague is just a text, phone call, or email away. I would say we have certainly bonded as a community and it has made us stronger.”

In the same vein, Green adds, “I am enjoying spending some extra time with my seven-month-old son and my husband.  I also think this situation has forced us to become more creative and given us the freedom to try a lot of new things in our teaching.  We are all working together and helping each other as we take on this new challenge.”

Each teacher was asked to share a few final thoughts and Raucci said, “A really great lesson is driven by student feedback. In the current platform, it’s very hard to get that feedback. Every lesson has a beginning and an end, the teacher is driving the bus down the highway, from the beginning to the end, and the interesting stuff is on the little side streets and the students drive that decision so now, without that interaction I have to anticipate what side streets they want to go down. So when I’m planning out my lessons, I am thinking to myself, what worked in the past, what kinds of students do I have in my class right now, what will interest them and I have to anticipate that.”

Prendys answered, “I think it’s important to realize we are all role models for children everywhere. It is important to practice the advice we have received from our government health officials and stay home. There are little eyes and ears watching and listening to everything we say or do. Why would you tell our students they have to stay home from school and away from their friends and teachers if you are going to go out and visit your own friends? Or go out to stores daily? I think it’s also important to realize teachers are people, too. We have set work hours we try to stick to, but our hearts are so big we will probably answer an email after hours. If a teacher does not answer right away, please remember we are at home taking care of loved ones or trying to practice being mindful ourselves. We realize everyone is stressed and overwhelmed during these times, but we all must remember adding stress onto others does not help the situation. We need to be patient, kind, and compassionate.”

“This is an extraordinary moment in history.  Like the rest of the country and the world, our lives took a very swift turn.  The last day I got to see my students was March 11th. I thought it was just a regular Wednesday. I got home from parent conferences that night and received a call that we would be closed the next day--which has now become over a month of time away from school with no definitive end in sight.  We are regular folks with children to take care of and educate as well as spouses or partners who are now working from home, and it can be a lot to juggle.  We are missing our students and our sense of normalcy. When you’re in a classroom all day, it’s easy to get caught up on your own agenda, lesson and to do list; a situation like this brings things back into focus and makes you realize that education and the school day for kids is much more than classes and assignments--it’s about belonging to a community and learning and growing together. I think for many educators, being a teacher is an integral part of who we are, so we are trying to find a way to be a new version of that person for ourselves and our students. In the time that we have been away, though, I think we have all become really aware of what’s important and we are working together to make sure our students are able to learn and feel connected and not alone.  As tough as this time is, I feel more support, love, and camaraderie than ever before,” shared Green.

Lastly, Semonick responded, “When I think about the possibility of not returning to school this school year I begin to cry. I wasn’t done with my kids. We had more learning and growing to do together. They found a special place in my heart and I’m still hopeful to make it back, even if it is only for a little while.”

*Teacher responses were used in their entirety when possible. Some have been edited and condensed for space.