So here we are, August 19, 2020, in the midst of the worst global pandemic in one hundred years. Some schools have reopened for students; most haven’t. Madera elementary, where in a normal year, Isla and Ella would be in class today. But today, they’re here. In PauPau and Granddads’s pod. We set up a card table with their names on it to make them feel welcome. Here’s Isla arriving for the first class of the day.
Paupau is a Chinese word for “grandmother.” And the pod consists of Isla and her friend Ella.
Jadyne, of course, made name tags. And added stickers.
And so it began. Or, so we thought. Jadyne and I stayed, waiting for them to connect to Ms. Reyes, their teacher.
From 10:00 to 10:25 was roll call, that is, if you knew or remembered how to connect.
They didn’t. We didn’t either. We missed Roll Call, frantically trying to find out why the gear icon was spinning and the message appeared, “your meeting will start in a few seconds”, all accompanied by the spinning gear. Once Ella figured it out we connected and were off to the races. Jadyne and I were amazed that these were the first vocabulary words for the day. Remember, these are second graders.
Synchronous: happening at the same time. They are learning synchronously when all the Chromebook cameras are on, all twenty-five reside in a virtual classroom. Photos of students surround the text.
Asynchronous: one-on-one communication between student and teacher.
The next half hour the teacher explained all the apps and icons that the students needed to understand. Those of us who use Word and Photoshop shouldn’t have any trouble with Zoom, Flipgrid, Epic, Clever, and Raz Kids, but we did.
It’s 12:46. Lunch is over. Before reading aloud time, Ms Reyes led them into “mindful moments.” (I was in my sixties before I ever experienced a mindful moment.)
I caught Ella at the moment when she and the mindful moment parted company. Isla stayed a mindful moment longer.
It’s now 1:30. They’re reading quietly. At 2:00 we’ll listen for the school bell. It rang. Everybody in their class said “Goodbye!” Or were told to.
School’s out.
No more pencils, No more books, No more teachers’ dirty looks. Or any looks, except through a Chromebook camera. Sad.