To say teaching during a pandemic has caused challenges for educators would be an understatement, and Highland High School English teacher Ryan Smith knows this first hand.
As an English teacher, communication is vital between teachers and students.
“The pandemic has made a discussion-based class like English Language Arts extremely challenging. It’s made me rethink how to be together while apart,” Smith said.
Smith has done his best to learn about what students need in this type of unique learning environment.
“I took a class this summer on online teaching, and it was stressed that students need a place to connect and feel like they are part of a community. Connecting with peers is essential,” Smith said.
COVID-19 has made this into a big issue, and Smith is doing his best to work around it.
“I’ve tried to incorporate functions for discussion in order to give students a voice… It’s hard, too, to have such a disjointed version of communication in short choppy bursts,” Smith said. “I might organize a whole suite of instructions and documents, but students can only ask questions in short volleys and the conversations are just not as robust.”
Truly seeing if students are grasping certain concepts is not easy.
“A student might feel brave for asking just one clarifying question during a virtual meeting, but that’s a really scant level of checking for understanding versus traditional school,” Smith said.
Smith is working on his master’s in English from Indiana University and already has earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Memphis and is not new to an online learning environment.
“I have been taking online classes for several years now. I think it takes a lot of bravery to flash your ideas across a virtual meeting but we all share the same humanness that makes speaking cathartic,” Smith said.
Smith wants to encourage his students to be active learners.
“Yes, there is something about talking into the computer that stultifies,” Smith said. “I get it, I wish more students would just give it a try. It feels almost healing to take that bottled-up thought and let it go during a meeting.”
Teachers have been challenged quite a bit during this past year, but so have students. Smith has advice for teachers who want to help students who are struggling.
“I think teachers can try to tap into their humanness and ask those questions they wished others would ask them. As more mature people, teachers can pose those things we are wondering and listen to our students give voice to our shared concerns.” Smith said.
Smith also has words of guidance for students and how they can use this period of time as a period of growth.
“I would encourage students to learn for themselves during this time. By that, I mean some students aren’t being as adversely affected as others in the pandemic, or they are adversely affected but continue to move through it,” Smith said. “Society, for a short time, has taken the posture that we maybe ought to write this period of our lives off in terms of rigor and in terms of progression. I totally understand it has been a dark and adverse time; however, the world goes on, as it did. It will expect excellence from you – acumen – if you want to succeed.”
As someone who has classes with seniors, Smith knows that for his students, finding encouragement to work, especially under the current circumstances, can be difficult. However, Smith said to keep moving forward.
“I think if students are not in a particularly bad spot, they should try to conscientiously push during the rest of the pandemic,” Smith said.
The pandemic has had many obvious drawbacks, but Smith has focused on the positives and managed to learn a bit about himself and his teaching style in the process.
“I’ve learned that I really love my discipline and that a large part of that is being together in a group and pressing into the existential questions that might seem insoluble considered by oneself,” Smith said.
Smith has learned that traditional learning and discussion add value to his life.
“Learning is a collective act, so I’ve discovered that I miss something that makes my life really full in normal times: authentic, in-person conversation.”
With online learning being such a prevalent part of current life, Smith seems to have the right idea about making the best of it.