Teach Teachers to Teach Online
What sudden virtual classrooms made evident about education today.
In March teachers all over the nation were blindsided by the choice for schools to shut down and go virtual. It was a necessary action to slow the spread of COVID 19 and give hospitals the time to prepare themselves for the oncoming pandemic.
Today the debate about returning to classrooms is in full swing. This is a difficult place for us all to be. Parents and educators alike find themselves in the midst of tough decisions about what the end of August might look like for them.
I cannot say I have the answer to whether or not students should return to their face to face classrooms. Or if they do, to what extent, or what the parameters should be. However, I can, with confidence, say that our education system needs to shift its thinking about how we train teachers.
I’ve been an educator for eleven years, seven of which I’ve spent operating in virtual online classrooms. Currently, and for the last three years, I am an instructional coach at an online school. Meaning, I spend my working hours training and supporting online teachers.
Overall the second half of March was business as usual for me. The drop-in centers my school utilizes to support students face to face (if they choose to come in) closed. Our engagement strategies…
