I had the perfect first grade Hebrew class.  Everything ran smoothly.  As the students trickled into class on Sunday mornings, they played together quietly with clay, puzzles, and games.  We transitioned into a morning meeting for attendance and letter review. Then they worked on their Let’s Discover the Alef Bet packets and did related crafts and worksheets.  Before I knew it, it was time to send my happy students home.

What, you don’t believe me? 

OK, so there were a few “key players”.  One in particular, in fact.  He seldom participated in activities and didn’t gel with any of the other students. He rarely smiled. He said inappropriate things to his classmates.

And then there was a pandemic.   We quickly pivoted to a zoom-only class in late March.  And the smile on my key player’s face!  He loved it!  He interacted with me and all his classmates.  He was adept at using his computer.  He completed the home assignment.  When I shared his work on my screen, he was so proud!

 

Now will he be changed forever? Probably not.  But as we grapple with our changed learning environments, let’s reframe how we think about remote learning and see it what we can do, and maybe for some students, what we should do.