June 1, 2020
Leaving school on Friday, March 13, no one ever believed we would be out for this long. First it was two weeks. Then it was a month, and then the rest of the year. Students across America have had to complete the rest of the year’s school work on their iPads.
Both students and teachers have had to adjust to their new way of learning and teaching.
Mr. Tom Partner, an eighth grade teacher in the middle school, said because of the district’s one-to-one technology initiative and its use of iPads, he felt fairly prepared because technology had been implemented into his classroom over the past couple years. iPads are a good thing to have in a pandemic because even though you aren’t in the classroom you can still learn outside of it.
Online school is all new to everyone involved in the educational process, so figuring out likes and the dislikes of remote learning is extremely important.
“Although I’d rather be in the classroom on a daily basis, I enjoy working at my own pace and sleeping in a little longer,” Mr. Partner joked. “Adjusting to online teaching is huge. Teachers and students were both working and learning at the same time to be able to expand their knowledge on online schooling. Live lessons helped me adjust to online teaching for my students.”
Mr. Partner said online schooling is a simple thing to say, but how effective was it?
“Some students may have adjusted well to online learning, but my guess is students had a hard time learning while not being in the classroom,” he said.
It could be harder for some students to focus while trying to complete work at home, and it is questionable whether online school will get students to the level that is necessary to pursue work in the real world.
”I do understand that safety is the number one priority, so if the experts tell us we need to start online in the fall, my mindset will be online, and I will continue to use the teaching tools and platforms for my students to learn and exceed in my classroom.”
However, for now, at least, the plan is for students to return to their classrooms in the fall, according to an announcement made by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolfe last week. What those classrooms will look like is still up in the air.