>>>
>>> WE
>>> WE ALL KNOW THAT THE SCHOOL YEAR IS GOING TO LOOK
DIFFERENTLY.
DIFFERENTLY. HOW MUCH IS STILL UP IN THE AIR?
WE ARE JOINED NOW FROM HER
CLASSROOM WHERE SHE IS PREPARED
TO TEACH KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST
GRADERS.
GRADERS.
GRADERS. SO, WHAT WERE YOU DOING THIS
TIME LAST YEAR?
>> I NEVER WOULD'VE DREAMED
THAT WE WOULD BE WHERE WE ARE
RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW. I DON'T THINK THAT ANY EDUCATOR
OR PARENT COULD HAVE DREAMED
WHERE WE WERE TODAY.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR I HAD A
CLASSROOM FULL OF THIRD-GRADERS.
THIS WAS IN RAMSEY INDIANA.
I WAS TEACHING.
WE WERE INTERACTING TEACHING
READING.
READING.
READING. I HAD THIS BY MY SMART BOARD AT
THE FRONT OF MY CLASSROOM.
WE WERE WORKING TOGETHER EVERY
DAY.
DAY.
DAY. THERE WERE NO MASKS.
>> YOU HAVE TRANSITIONED.
YOU ARE GOING TO BE GETTING THAT
LOOK AROUND THE CLASSROOM.
EXPLAIN WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
BECAUSE WHAT'S ALSO INTERESTING
IS, YOU ARE IN RAMSEY INDIANA.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOU COULD
HAVE STUDENTS COMING FROM ALL
OVER.
OVER.
OVER. >>
OVER. >> YES.
>> YES.
>> YES. WHAT IS REALLY NEAT ABOUT THIS
PROGRAM, AND YOU CAN SEE BEHIND
ME, THIS IS GOING TO BE MY
CALENDAR AREA HERE.
LET ME PICK THIS UP.
YOU CAN SEE, HERE IS MY EMPTY
CLASSROOM.
CLASSROOM. I HAVE IT SET UP FOR STUDENTS
TO COME A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
TWO DAYS AFTER I GOT IT SET UP,
AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY ARE EVENLY
SPACED.
SPACED.
SPACED. HAVE INDIVIDUAL BOOK BINS.
BUT TWO DAYS LATER I FOUND OUT
THAT I WAS GOING TO BE A
VIRTUAL TEACHER.
VIRTUAL TEACHER. HERE IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM, WE
HAVE DECIDED OUR ADMINISTRATION
DECIDED.
DECIDED.
DECIDED. TO HAVE TEACHERS ASSIGNED TO
TEACH VIRTUALLY ONLY.
THERE ARE STUDENTS IN OUR
SCHOOL TODAY.
SCHOOL TODAY. IT STARTED YESTERDAY WHICH IS
AUGUST FIFTH FOR THE KIDS.
SO, THEY CAME, THEY WERE ALL
AROUND IN DIFFERENT CLASSROOMS.
MY CLASSROOM IS RESUMED TO
TEACH WHEN THEY LOG ON FOR THE
FIRST TIME ON MONDAY.
AT THIS POINT, I HAVE 19 KIDS.
IT'S ALL KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST
GRADE.
GRADE.
GRADE. WHAT IS NEEDED IS DOING THIS
VIRTUAL PROGRAM.
VIRTUAL PROGRAM. I CAN TEACH STUDENTS FROM
ANYWHERE AS LONG AS THEY ARE A
RESIDENT OF OUR STATE.
I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
>> TEACHING IS YOUR PASSION.
YOU CAN TELL THAT.
BUT I HAVE TO ASK, AS A PARENT,
HOW DO YOU VIRTUALLY TEACH
KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADERS?
WHAT IS THE SECRET SAUCE?
>> I'M GOING TO BE FIGURING
THAT OUT ALONG THE WAY.
I'M VERY EXCITED TO GET STARTED
ON MONDAY.
ON MONDAY. WE HAVE A FULLY LOADED PROGRAM
THAT WE ARE GOING TO DO SO
EVERY ONE OF THOSE STANDARDS
ARE GOING TO BE MET.
THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE A SELF-
PACED PROGRAM DONE DURING THE
DAY.
DAY.
DAY. THE
DAY. THE FIRST THING WE ARE GOING TO
DO, DEPENDING ON HOW LONG IT
TAKES FOR ME TO GO TO THE
CALENDAR.
CALENDAR.
CALENDAR. FROM THAT.
FROM THAT. THEY WILL THEN GO INTO THIS
PROGRAM ALL ONLINE WITH LOTS OF
VIDEOS AND LOTS OF GOOD
INTERACTION.
INTERACTION. LOTS OF ENRICHMENT, EVEN
INCLUDES SPECIAL CLASSES LIKE
PE AND COMPUTER SCIENCE AND
SPANISH.
SPANISH.
SPANISH. THEN, I WILL ALSO BE
SUPPLEMENTING WITH OTHER VIDEOS
THROUGH THE GOOGLE PROGRAMS.
I WILL BE PUTTING THINGS UP TO
SHOW THEIR KIDS EVERYTHING HERE
WHICH I'VE ALREADY STARTED THIS
WEEK.
WEEK.
WEEK. SO,
WEEK. SO, I STARTED WITH THROWING IN
THOSE REVIEW THINGS.
JUST SUPPLEMENTING THEM IN THE
AFTERNOON DOING THE SMALL
GROUPS OR ONE-ON-ONE
INSTRUCTION TO REMEDIATE THAT.
>> I HAVE TO ASK THIS BECAUSE
OBVIOUSLY THE PANDEMIC IT HAS
HIT ALL OF US.
ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY WERE
FACED, DEPENDING UPON HOW THEIR
WORK SCHEDULE, WHAT HAPPENED
WHETHER THEY WERE STAYING AT
HOME OR NOT.
IT'S JUST ABOUT HOW LONG THIS
IS GOING TO RELY ON PARENTS OR
CAREGIVERS AS KIDS OPPOSED TO
WHAT THE ROLE IS.
WHAT DO YOU SEE THERE?
>> WELL, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR
PARENTS TO BE INVOLVED WITHOUT
A DOUBT.
A DOUBT.
A DOUBT. IF YOU AND YOUR SCHOOL ARE
DOING VIRTUAL LEARNING, EVEN IF
IT IS A HYBRID SCHEDULE OR IF
IT IS A 100% VIRTUAL SCHEDULE,
PARENT SUPPORT IS NEEDED.
I HAVE BEEN EMAILING BACK AND
FORTH TO ALL OF MY PARENTS.
I'VE BEEN GETTING SEVERAL
EMAILS A DAY.
TRYING TO SEND OUT INFORMATION
AND KEEPING THEM IN THE LOOP TO
COMMUNICATION TO BE A KEY WITH
YOUR CHILD'S TEACHER.
ANOTHER THING, ESPECIALLY THE
YOUNGER KIDS WHO ARE GOING TO
NEED HELP LOGGING IN.
THE TEACHER MAY BE THERE BUT,
YOU ARE ALSO A TEACHER AT HOME.
WHOEVER IT IS, WORKING WITH
THOSE GRANDPARENTS.
THOSE GRANDPARENTS. THEY WILL BE THERE IN COLLEGE.
THIS LITTLE ONE ALL OVER HERE
AT LAST TIME.
WELL, TEACHING IS THE PASSION.
IT IS OBVIOUSLY THAT THEY ARE
VERY EXCITED.
VERY EXCITED. WE HAVE SO WITH OUR TEACHERS
AND FOR ANYBODY WHO HAS HAD TO
MAKE THOSE DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT
TO DO WITH OUR CHILDREN.
IT IS SCARY UNCERTAIN TIMES.
I APPRECIATE EDUCATORS WHO ARE
SAYING TOMORROW, THE NEXT
MOMENT.
MOMENT.
MOMENT. THOSE ALL CHANGE, I HAVE TO GO
INTO THAT.
INTO THAT. THIS IS THE WAY THAT YOU'RE
GOING INTO THAT.
I DO HAVE TO ASK THIS LAST
QUESTION BECAUSE I KNOW YOU ARE
VERY BUSY.
VERY BUSY. WHAT ABOUT YOURSELF?
YOU ARE IN A CLASSROOM.
YOU WORRY ABOUT THAT RISK FOR
YOURSELF.
YOURSELF.
YOURSELF. >> IT IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS
THAT I DO HAVE TO BE CONCERNED
WITH.
WITH.
WITH. I
WITH. I MYSELF, I FALL INTO A HIGH
RISK CATEGORY WITH MEDICATION
AND AUTOIMMUNITY.
AND AUTOIMMUNITY. I FEEL SAFE IN THIS CLASSROOM.
I HAVE MY MASK OFF, I'M BY
MYSELF.
MYSELF.
MYSELF. IF I AM OUT IN THE BUILDING,
BECAUSE OF THINGS THAT THE
GOVERNOR HAS PUT IN PLACE IF
STUDENTS ARE MOVING, ESPECIALLY
IN GRADES 34 AND FIVE, THAT IS
THE RULE.
THE RULE.
THE RULE. IT IS HARD NOT TO BE ABLE TO
HUG MY FORMER STUDENTS THAT
I'VE ALREADY SEEN.
BLOWING KISSES, AIR HUGS, ALL
OF THOSE THINGS.
THOSE AIR HIGH-FIVES.
THINGS LIKE THAT.
THESE ARE THE REALITY RIGHT NOW.
THIS IS GOING TO TAKE SOME
GETTING USED TO FOR NOT ONLY
THE KIDS BUT FOR US AS ADULTS.
FOR US, WHO ARE TEACHERS WHO
ARE CAREGIVERS.
ARE CAREGIVERS. WE WANT THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH
THE KIDS.
THE KIDS.
THE KIDS. RIGHT NOW, THIS IS OUR NORMAL.
WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING
THE