I have been teaching for 50 years. However, the past two months did not prepare me for the intensity of virtual learning.
My wife, Debby, and I now supervise the virtual learning of three of our grandkids twice-a-week in our home, two in first grade, and one in fourth grade. We are also in close collaboration with our other grandkids ranging from Pre-K to ninth grade, all of whom are learning online.
Needless-to-say for the first graders, twin boys, it is a challenge (the fourth-grade girl loves her teachers, her friends, and her life. She is one of those kids who is inspired by just being alive. A great gift, indeed).
So, how do we inspire our kids through the machines that loom endlessly in their lives?
What we have learned these past two months seems to align with the enduring methods and values that all great teachers and parents know and have implemented for hundreds of years.
First, unconditional acceptance of the gifts of each child. Every person is created in the “image of God,” and even though that “image” is often mitigated by the machines, we just need to work a bit harder to truly “see” the Godly image of our students.
Second, I believe that inspiration emanates from brevity and action. Whereas the amount of time on screen may vary from grade to grade, cutting that time perhaps in half might make sense to maintain full student engagement. For the first grader, for example, we have learned that 10-15 minutes of screen time and 20 minutes of project/activity time per hour, is the ticket to teaching effectively and inspiring kids of that age.
Regarding brevity, there is a great story that speaks to this point.
A Rabbi has just given the best sermon of his career. He held the adults in his congregation spellbound for 45 minutes. After the service, the Rabbi was approached by a TV producer. “Rabbi,” he asked, “I’d like to put your sermon on TV. TV time, however, is very expensive. Could you do your sermon in 90 seconds?” The Rabbi responded, “Of course.” And the TV producer asked, “Then why didn’t you?”
Finally, I believe that Judaism and Oxford University have had it right for 2000 and 1000 years, respectively. Learning in chevruta, dyads, one-on-one tutorials is, indeed, the key to effective teaching and lifelong inspiration. Twenty minutes, for example, of one-on-one Zoom teaching time once, twice, or three-times a week with student and teacher will be far more effective than forty minutes of time, five times a week with ten kids in the Zoom room. Maybe this is also the way to teach beyond Covid?
Zoom or not, great teaching visions remain: Love the kids, be brief, keep them active, and provide quality personal time. And remember, that our inspiration lasts a lifetime for our students.