Teaching During a Pandemic

Teaching During a Pandemic

By Ann Gordon

Ann: My heart goes out to all teachers these days, especially those teaching young children. It must be so hard to teach virtually(ˈvərCH(o͞o)əlē) during this pandemic.

Alex: Yes, it’s hard enough without dealing with a pandemic. Educating(ˈejəˌkāt) young children is truly one of the most important jobs there is.

Ann: As a teacher I remember setting up the classroom to act as the other teacher. I can’t imagine trying to motivate children to learn just from a computer screen. Young children are so much more motivated if they are met where they are and stretched(streCH) to learn more. That’s not easy to do with all children at once from a computer screen!

Alex: it would be hard to keep them motivated. My experience is that children actually need to do things and delve(delv) into experiences to internalize(inˈtərnlˌīz) what they are learning.

Ann: That’s what was so satisfying about having a classroom set up with learning experiences to match each child’s interests. Some learned math best by building with blocks or doing measurements(ˈmeZHərmənt) through cooking, sewing(ˈsōiNG), or woodworking. Others were more motivated to learn reading by reading simple recipes(ˈresəˌpē), or making and reading signs to go with the villages(ˈvilij) they made in blocks.

Alex: Well, most children do find it more interesting to do a project than to just listen to someone abstractly tell how to do something. I would imagine it will be hard for teachers to command(kəˈmand) children’s attention on a screen for very long. Children would lose(lo͞oz) interest quickly if they couldn’t be physically involved.

Ann: These days, children are used to being entertained(ˌen(t)ərˈtān) on screens with commercially produced videos or games. That’s a high bar for a teacher to meet. The professionalism(prəˈfeSHənlˌizəm) a teacher brings includes their presence(ˈprezəns) as loving, human contacts who provide environments and experiences for children to explore their curiosities(ˌkyo͝orēˈäsədē) and make connections to the world.

Alex: My hat’s off to them as they find ways to meet these challenges and to keep accomplishing their great purposes.

Ann: I wonder what ways we can support them as they devote(dəˈvōt) their lives to our world’s precious(ˈpreSHəs) children.