Students have certainly adapted to online class, but have teachers managed to?

Some teachers think online school is more challenging since the students have created a warm environment in actual class.

“Technology cannot replace that real and tangible human experience of being together and the power of presence with each other!” said Ms. Gonzalez, a teacher in the Religion department.

“I think that it’s definitely been more of a challenge to teach,” said Ms. Cuesta, who teaches English. “I really do believe that teaching in a classroom, especially one in which the students have been together all year and have created a fun and warm environment, is one of the amazing benefits of teaching in person. Unfortunately, with virtual school, that sense of environment is a little lost. I know that Zoom can help bring the class together once more, but, for me, it’s just not the same thing.”

However, teachers like Ms. Cuesta have been exploring their creativity regarding assignments.

“Nevertheless, I will say that virtual school has made me a more creative teacher. I’m creating videos for my students and far more escape rooms, so I can’t say that it has all been bad.”

Mr. Gamwell, who is also an English teacher, thinks online school has made him a better teacher.

“While certainly more difficult, I think being over prepared for my lessons has made me a better teacher. I can more easily respond to the many challenges facing my students or the necessary changes to the schedule.”

Other teachers that have troublemakers think it’s much easier to teach online.

“It is somewhat easier to teach online because students have less distractions and troublemakers can be muted if they misbehave and therefore they are not misbehaving any longer. The waiting room is great because we have no intruders in the class. I can project powerpoint, write on the whiteboard, etc,” said Chemistry teacher Ms. Varela.

Ms. Varela also thinks school online is much more effective since she can she start teaching right away instead of spending time checking uniforms, the color of the socks, shoe, passes, and ID’s.

Mr. Gamwell says he misses unplanned moments and especially all the students that used to visit his class during F block.

“I miss the unplanned moments: the quiet times between assignments where we could talk about our families or the high-fives in the hallway. I especially miss students I don’t teach – like the many students I used to see during F Block.”

Ms. Cuesta misses her students and the environment we had in school.

“I miss the students more than anything. Again, we’ll see each other on Zoom, but it really isn’t the same. I miss having class discussions, sometimes about random topics, and just hearing the input from everyone. Each classroom really had its own personality and environment, established by the students in there, so what I miss most is just being in the unique classes and just talking to everyone face-to-face. I miss the jokes that were said and the energy of everyone being together.”

Students and teachers think ILS has done an amazing job in creating an academic environment online!