A Whole New World

Distance learning has been challenging for teachers, who are learning on the fly and staying optimistic.
 
By Morgan Lang 
Staff Writer
 
Online Learning is a new experience for everyone, and each individual handles it differently than the next. From frustration to optimism, teachers shared how they feel about distance learning.
 
Mr. Shank, Dean of Students, said he definitely prefers being in school rather than virtual learning. Mr. Shank said the situation isn’t ideal, but he tries to stay as positive as he can. 

Something that really impresses him is how students are handling this situation. 

“I am really impressed and encouraged by the students who have embraced the ‘new norm’ and are working very hard to attend Zoom classes and complete their work. I am also feeling really good about how, when necessary, students are advocating for themselves when they need support,” he said.

Some of Mr. Shank’s successes have been keeping the workload     manageable for his students but at the same time, also keeping value in his lessons. In Mr. Shank’s opinion, online classes are much harder than being in school because, “My educational philosophy is quite simple: build relationships with students and then you can teach them anything.” 

However, with distance learning, “I find it very hard to continue to build relationships with my students virtually.”
 
“LEARNING SOMETHING EVERY DAY”
Middle School science teacher Ms. Van Den Acre said she is becoming more comfortable with distance learning. Her biggest fear initially was that she wouldn’t be able to learn everything that she needed to for her students to be successful. 

“I’m still learning something every day,” she said.

For instance, she has learned how to use Zoom, make conference calls on her phone, use Microsoft Teams, and organize virtual trips. 

Some of her biggest challenges are not being able to see her students and colleagues face to face. She misses being able to share new ideas with her friends at work and
Joe’s delicious lunches every day. 

Although Ms. VDA is enjoying not having to wake up at 4:45 in the morning and dealing with traffic jams commuting to work, she misses being at school because she can’t see how her students are feeling virtually as easily as she can with a face-to-face interaction. 

    
ENJOYED 1-ON-1 MEETINGS
Middle School Learning Specialist Ms. Zinkewich said that whiledistance learning has been a new challenge for all of us, she has enjoyed her 1-on-1 meetings with her seventh graders. 

On days that students don’t need help on assignments, she says they just talk about their hobbies and interests, and she feels she has learned more about them than ever before.

Some of her biggest challenges have been not being able to interact with her students and help them when they are struggling with assignments like she did before.

“Sometimes I wish I could reach through the computer!” she says. 

Ms. Zinkewich misses the way she used to be able to interact with her students in person. “I can’t wait to get back to school,” she says. 
 
         ADMIRES HOW HARD STUDENTS ARE WORKING
Fifth grade teacher Mrs. Barks says she really admires how hard her students, and parents, are working and she wishes they didn’t have so much to do. 

Mrs. Barks also says that online learning has allowed her to find interactive games, tools and activities that she might not have discovered before. Even so, she said, “I also really miss seeing everybody in person.”
 
           DISCOVERED NEW ONLINE RESOURCES
Middle School math teacher Ms. McCoog says she also misses seeing her students face to face and the personal 1-on-1 time she used to get with them. 

Something that she has enjoyed about online learning is the fact that she has been able to use different methods of teaching than when she was back in school. “I have discovered new online resources to use that make it different from always having to use a pencil and paper,” she says. 

Some successes have been the students using their time properly to ask important questions, which helps them gain a better understanding of what they are learning. 
 
           A GREAT LEARNIN EXPERIENCE
Lower School art teacher Mrs. Kerner says online learning has been a great learning experience for her because she considers herself to be a bit “technology challenged.” 

“I’m very thankful for my children, who spent hours on the phone helping me get set up for our new learning platforms when I was almost in tears,” she says. 

She has learned things that she thought she would never know how to use. Some successes she has had are working on large glitter creatures with her fourth graders and 3D plaster gauze paintings with her 5th graders. 

Mrs. Kerner is amazed at how well her students have adapted to the online learning schedule and she is extremely impressed with some of her students who have also joined Zoom calls with her. 

Her philosophy is: “Try to stay positive because this will all pass.”
 
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Woodlynde School is a private, co-ed college prep day school located in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that serves intelligent, talented students with learning differences in grades K - 12. Woodlynde provides a comprehensive, evidence-based Kindergartenelementarymiddle and high school program in a challenging yet nurturing environment for students with average to above average cognitive abilities (IQ) who have language- or math-based learning differences (such as Dyslexia, Dysgraphia or Dyscalculia), Executive Function Challenges, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or Auditory Processing Disorder. Even for those students without a diagnosed learning disability (LD), Woodlynde offers expert and caring teachers in small classroom settings that support academic success. Woodlynde School also offers a post-graduate (PG) program in partnership with Rosemont College as well as a regional Summer Camp for students who learn differently.