Mr. Takesue-ukulele and music theory teacher

“Overall, it’s been pretty tough working with students on this virtual platform. The biggest thing is not being able to see people face-to-face to find out how they are really doing. Now that we’re distributing and collecting everything digitally, it’s much more difficult for me to get and stay organized. Also, planning and preparing lessons have become exponentially more difficult. It takes a lot of time and effort to put together PowerPoint presentations or make videos. It’s hard to plan and execute lessons when you’re not 100% sure on how the technology is going to work for you.”

Mrs. Travers- mhh/pid and cap teacher

“My school year so far has been stressful, very busy, lot of planning and working through technical difficulties…and watching countless hours of youtube tutorials on how to do everything! It is hard getting students to be attentive and not distracted with what’s going on at home, [it’s] difficult getting student participation if they choose not to turn on their cameras… I miss the interactions and building relationships which is easier to do face to face…[and] hanging out with students at recess time [to] catch up with what is going on in their lives.”

Mrs. Bernard-csap and cap teacher

“[Online classes] take way more time to [prepare] for five different classes not including CAP. I need to think of ways to make the lesson engaging online and then I have to put the lessons onto a digital format. [I’m] unable to [physically] see students’ facial expressions so that I can immediately adjust a lesson/task. [I] send Jupiter Ed reminders to students that we meet on ALL C3 or C4 day on Google Meet…,but they still don’t show up. [I] miss standing [and] walking, around the classroom as I observe students’ learning but [at least] students are not getting suspended or serving detention.”

Mrs. Toyama-us history and cap teacher

“It’s taking a lot of adjusting… [and] It’s been stressful at times but it’s been nice at times as well. My biggest concern has been trying to stay organized and trying to make things clear for students. My [other] concern is for students who might be falling through the cracks. How we can support them better and how can we make sure that they do have access or at least if they don’t have internet access or device access, how can we get them materials? It’s still the beginning of the year so we’re still figuring it out but communication is really important and I want to make sure students feel supported because it is harder because they’re at home.”

Mrs. Soeda-Japanese and cap teacher

“I really did want to meet my students and get to know them in person. I wanted them to get comfortable with me and each other so that when we went to distance learning, they would feel comfortable having conversations with one another. However, …I did not feel it was safe to have so many students on campus in such close proximity to one another. I know it would have been hard for students to social distance from their group of friends especially at recess and lunch. For now, I think the safest alternative is distance learning even though it makes it difficult. Distance learning is so much harder…It takes so much more time to research, prepare lessons digitally, correct work, and give feedback. But I’m glad that the teachers have been supporting one another and sharing ideas. But most of all, I’m glad that the students and families have been patient and understanding towards their teachers as they know this has been a struggle for many of us. Let’s all help each other, even people we don’t know cause you never know who might need a helping hand.”

Mrs. Heredia-p.e, yoga and cap teacher

“Online school is very challenging especially working with an activity course over a screen, motivation is a bit harder, [and] attendance is low. [Students are] more comfortable in their own home, not self conscious and focusing on other people looking at [them].”

Mrs. Lundahl-english, world history and cap teacher

“Preparing lessons for distance learning is very different from traditional or face to face (FTF) learning. Delivering lessons online versus FTF is also very different. As a result, preparing for classes has become a more complex task that is more time consuming than before. Teachers as well as students need time to adjust and keep an open mind. The most challenging part is the expectations of students, parents, and education administrators to “just know” and “use” technology effectively and in an engaging way. Although I have 15 years of teaching experience, I feel “new” to teaching this year! I am not a fan of distance learning yet because building relations with my students is challenging; however, I feel challenged in a positive way because I have learned so many new teaching strategies since quarter 4 that I might have never explored if it weren’t for the pandemic.”