蜜桃影视

In any normal year, when I ask teachers, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 school like this year?鈥� they talk about whiteboards, desks, school buses and the cafeteria.

This is not a normal year. And the answers to this question are no longer normal.

The truth is that school is absolutely nothing like what it used to be.

Back in the Before Days, school was a relatable topic. Everyone鈥檚 been to school. Therefore, everyone knows what school is like. There鈥檚 a teacher. There are desks. In November, there are handprint turkeys on the bulletin board. If the class is lucky, there鈥檚 a guinea pig munching away on a roll of toilet paper in the corner.

But this year, for many teachers, there is none of that. This is extremely liberating in one way, and extremely exhausting in numerous others.

The liberating thing is that teachers are fully and completely independent. There鈥檚 no student interrupting the class halfway through the period. There is no one accessing the classroom unannounced (thank you, Zoom waiting room!). There鈥檚 no fire drill, no intercom announcements from the vice principal, no broken heater.

The most important benefit is something that only teachers can relate to: There鈥檚 no variation to the daily schedule. No stragglers after class. No one entering the classroom minutes early. No one unwrapping the foil from their Chipotle burrito because the cafeteria was overwhelming and she just wanted to be alone.

There鈥檚 even time for bathroom breaks. The ultimate gift, right?

In the remote classroom, when teachers end class, they hit the red 鈥淟eave Meeting鈥� button. What happens next sounds like what a full stop would sound like if a full stop could make a sound. The classroom is literally frozen closed. Not a molecule of life remains.

All this sounds like a dream come true. It鈥檚 teaching without interruption, with hard stops and focused time on and off.

But I鈥檒l let you in on a little secret that non-teachers might not be privy to.

Remote teaching does not feel like teaching.

This is not the same as saying remote teaching is not teaching. It absolutely is. But something is distinctly lacking in remote teaching. That something is nuance.

Nuance is depth. When we teach, we are visually engaging our students. We are modulating our voices. We are scanning the classroom for body language and other nonverbal cues about our students鈥� individual well-being. We are temperature-taking, improvising, ad-libbing and re-creating. All. The. Time.

All this nuance-based activity adds up to the soul of teaching. And it is something that remote teaching largely lacks.

Teachers might design incredible Google slides, create endless interactive projects and podcast the classroom鈥檚 own Lincoln/Douglas debate for the world to hear.

But without In Real Life teaching, the relational magic is compromised. Not impossibly, not indelibly, but significantly.

Because that student who鈥檚 eating lunch alone in your classroom has something to say as she bites into her chicken burrito, looking down at her feet. And it has nothing to do with your award-winning lesson plan. That group of students lingering in the doorway to get your attention is not doing it because it鈥檚 the cool place to hang out on campus. That colleague is not slowing down her hallway walk as she approaches your classroom door just because her Fitbit told her to.

So when we wish for a swift and complete eradication of this pandemic, we wish for a return to our calling鈥檚 humanity, soul and nuance. Here are some simple tips for virtually replicating that nuance:

• Arrive 10 to 15 minutes early to your online class and use that time to meet 1:1 with students. Once students know that you鈥檙e regularly in the classroom, those with questions will arrive early, hoping to be let in before class.
• Open breakout rooms to one person in each so you can float in and out and have 1:1 discussions. This allows for strategic connection time with specific students.
• Allow for a 鈥淰ideo Off Day,鈥� so students can learn without the added stress of seeing themselves in a square all the time.
• Hold open office hours during lunch. Even if it’s just once every two weeks, this allows for small groups to visit and unwrap their burrito foil together.
• Be the last to leave the classroom to allow for stragglers to initiate conversation. Encourage waving goodbye at the end of every class and wait to 鈥渓eave meeting鈥� until the very last student has exited.
• Use the chat function. Chat is an incredible tool, when used wisely.

Nat Damon, a 25-year educator and author of , is executive director of . His podcast, “,” is available on iTunes, Spotify and YouTube. He works on strengthening relationships within schools in the U.S. and U.K.

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