While the start to the school year has been a rough one, the topics of privilege, education, and the coronavirus continue to pose issues to the teachers and administrators within our district. The need to combat this deficiency in adequate student learning troubles distraught educators and worried parents.
Online meeting and collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams allow students and educators to collaborate and collectively overcome struggles within virtual learning. However, systems like these aren’t perfect—technology brings unexpected issues into play. Many financially lacking households lack a working computer and access to a stable internet connection. Curriculum is being rushed through and students find themselves unsure of their learning and conceptual understanding.
In efforts to gain more insight into the divide between virtual learning and the quality of education, I interviewed Dan Peterson, a CTE teacher at Interlake High School.
When I asked Mr. Peterson about his thoughts regarding the differences between regular and virtual learning, he said that he prefers teaching in-person, as it allows him to “effectively impart information” and “better gauge student reaction.” The limited student-teacher interactions clearly affect the one-on-one learning that normally occurs in a regular classroom environment. In addition, Mr. Peterson noted that he misses the “opportunity to work with students and get to know them.” The lack of a well-connected learning community is a major regret for the teaching community; the personality and interests of each student are made unclear. Frustrated by the problem-riddled nature of virtual learning, Mr. Peterson remembered being unsure about “how to do things in the classroom” and laughingly remarked that Microsoft Teams “is not built to turn in projects and quizzes.”
However, while in-person learning has provided unexpected burdens and challenges, it has introduced greater resilience and flexibility within the teaching community. When I asked Mr. Peterson about the things he would like to adopt from virtual learning upon returning to the classroom, he said that “letting students do quizzes online with time limits could work well.” He also remarked that he would like to “tape record lessons” when teaching in-person. That would make dealing with student absences more manageable. Finally, when I asked Mr. Peterson about the role of technology in his daily routine with the added pressures of online learning, he went on to say how “the role of technology didn’t increase very much” as it was something he had gotten used to as a CTE teacher.
Our daily routine is very much a sequence of virtual meetings and online learning, but dealing with the problems that have risen in the education of students has strengthened Interlake’s learning community. While struggles and deficiencies have plagued the first quarter of online learning, they have created memorable learning experiences that will prepare all of us for a memorable school year ahead.