Yay! A student actually stopped by Zoom office hours voluntarily to talk about her paper outline. I’m holding a lot of office hours, in part because it’s relatively easy to do so via Zoom — I mostly just keep the window open and continue working on my own stuff. I have class time and early […]
I Miss My Munchkins Read More »
Six weeks into the semester, and making videos is a little less nerve-wracking? Maybe? Here’s one that might interest some of you — I sing “Kilkelly, Ireland” for my class, stopping every few lines to try to connect the lyrics to what we’re reading about in terms of Irish history and colonialism. I am not
It’s really interesting getting little glimpses into Anand’s schooling. He just took his headphones off to complain to me that he’s supposed to listen to a 10-second clip of Hispanic music, and then write how it made him feel, and how it connects to Hispanic culture and history. “We haven’t even had a history class
It’s funny how anxiety-provoking it is, making teaching videos. I can walk into a class and talk to anyone. I can be on panels and talk to a thousand people. Being on TV is scary, but that’s understandable — it’s a potentially huge audience. But it keeps surprising me, how unnerving it is making a
Anxiety-provoking Teaching Videos Read More »
I brought Anand outside for his e-learning this morning because he had a bit of a headache, and I thought fresh air might help (along with medicine). He’s a little prone to headaches, poor kid. His dad gets migraines, and Anand may have inherited a bit of that. We were waiting for his teacher to
Funny Adventures in E-learning Read More »
I recently had a conversation with a teenage girl who shall remain nameless, who noted that since Zoom calls only show from the shoulders up, there’s really no reason to wear a bra to school if she doesn’t feel like it. No one can complain that she’s distracting the boys, etc. This hadn’t occurred to
A Critical Piece of Information Read More »
Today the Surgeon General confirmed that the first Covid-19 vaccines will not be available to children as current clinical trials are all in adults aged 18 years old or older. Pediatric trials of vaccines won’t begin until the adult trials are completed and the data is analyzed for efficacy and safety. So, teachers and administrators
We’re letting our 5th grader play video games during e-learning. Kevin and I (both professors, math and English) feel a little guilty about this, but also think it’s fine for him. Given how much misery I’m seeing around the parenting boards, I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about why we’re doing this,
I Have a Confession Read More »
Anand is behind on Spanish, and is basically checking out throughout the classes, which are pretty immersive, because he doesn’t understand anything. He agrees that this is a problem, and is willing to study Spanish separately with us to catch up. What would you recommend for this? He’s 10, and honestly, I mostly feel like
Language-learning Brainstorming? Read More »
A not-so-little moment of grace — our entire 5th grade instructional cohort has agreed that there will be no homework while remote. That’s going to save some tears in my house, I can tell you, and I think it’s better pedagogy too — the kids need a real break, after all the Zooming. Feeling grateful.
