Teaching during a pandemic

 When COVID-19 first started, people did not know what the future was going to entail. Students did not know when they were going back to school. People did not know if or when they were going back to work, and teachers did not know how they would adequately teach their students. Teachers had to learn how to use the zoom or google meets. They had to completely rewrite lesson plans to make sure they could be done through a computer screen or in a timely manner. They had to deal with issues such as wifi cutting out or audio not working. But to stay calm, teachers should keep a few things in mind as they teach from home, shown in the article "Teaching Through a Pandemic: A Mindset for This Moment" by Stephen Merril. The article explains that you should "expect trial and plenty of error."

   Some things that have worked in a physical classroom will not work through zoom or google meets. Teachers have to come up with new ways to make sure children understand the material they are teaching. The article also explains to "reduce workload for you and your students." If children are working from home and need their parent's help. Having fewer assignments might be more beneficial since parents might also be working from home. Parents still need to complete their jobs but also help their children with school work. The article states, "What would normally take you one class period to teach in the classroom will probably take you twice as long." The article also explains that "no person is an island." The author means that no one person is ok with prolonged periods of no socialization. To combat this, teachers should have zoom or google meets focused classes whenever they can. Teachers should also find someone from the workplace to talk to once a week, so people don't feel alone. To help children combat the isolating aspects of COVID-19, teachers should make sure students have their cameras on when in class. If students get off task in online group sessions, teachers should not be aggravated because it is stressful. But at the same time, the teacher should remind students that they have work to complete. 

    Overall teaching during a pandemic is stressful but at the same time it is what we are currently going through and everyone needs to adapt.