Well, That Went Quickly!

 Now heading into the last weekend of the whirlwind of this trimester, I realize that keeping up this journal on a weekly basis was more than I could do!  

It's been a great trimester.  As we got rolling, the ball simply caught momentum and went faster and faster.  Students picked up on the daily expectations and patterns, and didn't need instructions about what to do first, then second, then third... Each day, they dove in to the lessons that were next on the list.  Even though many students thrived, some students struggled. 

Learning on-line requires an inflexible attention to detail -- no typos when navigating a URL or clicking a box in a multiple-choice question.  Learning on-line requires a maturity and self-motivation with the material, not something every 15-year-old naturally has for math.  At the end of the trimester, one student put his finger on it: "We are just doing the best we can in a difficult situation."  For those students who struggled, my hat goes off to them.  They all maintained a great attitude, continued learning, and did what they needed to do with this difficult situation.  All the math material covered during a regular year in Geo/Algebra II was covered in this trimester by these students.  I did my best, as teacher,  to meet with each student individually at least every other day, to circle around and review the important topics, hoping their memory of their work this year would be solidified for the fall, and to have each student enjoy some aspect of their experience in math.  Oh, sure, the jury is still out on how well students will retain information learned in this way, but they --- I -- we -- did our very best.  

Then there are the students who live as if the computer is an extension of their arm and brain.  Clicking buttons in the right location, the right time, and in the right pattern is easy for these folks.  Many of them began watching videos and completing homework early -- sometimes days early, working 4 or more hours a day on their own in math. That's right.  4 or more hours outside of class.  One student said, "I don't have anything else to do,"  which, at first blush, is a sad statement, but at second glow, is quite revealing.  OF COURSE, that student had other things to do, but chose to do math.   Students like this, who went above and beyond, learned more than I had initially planned and hoped we'd cover.  

Making my short 10-min videos with supporting "live" sessions, activities, humor, a smattering of review to help jog memories, the occasional interesting link, and homework is a time consuming task, but was also fun and exciting when I saw students able to latch on to EdPuzzle, screencastOmatic, book work, and on-line contact as a viable way to learn the material.  The faster they went, the more I produced.  Indeed, I began taking students aside to see what interested them. Some weeks, students saw esoteric ideas such as Hippocrates Quadrature of the Lune (related to DaVinci's rectification which we studied) or Pick's Theorem; several students this week had an introduction to the foundation of differential calculus with a study of the average rate of change.  Most students did something extra this trimester, even those who struggled with the on-line learning.  

So we discovered one of the biggest benefits of on-line learning: students could work at their own pace.  Some worked ahead, some stayed the course, and some needed some additional incentives to keep themselves going.  I find myself wondering how I could create, in an in-person classroom, the same learner-friendly atmosphere that allows students to learn and work at their own pace.  This self-paced course atmosphere was easy to create on-line; as I review this last trimester, I believe I'll be able to transfer some of the successful on-line techniques to the in-person learning environment.  In short, this past year of teaching on line has made me a better teacher.  I started teaching math in an independent high school in 1986, so I'm no newcomer to the field. 

The New York Times published a piece in their "Here to Help" page (Saturday, February 3, 2021; page A3) entitled "The Upside to Screen Time," where a parent (Jessica Grose) discusses her daughter's new tech fluency and her new interest in writing.  Neither this skill or this interest likely would have been discovered this year without this child's on-line classroom.  In addition, our own Albuquerque Journal published an Op-Ed (February 7, 2021; page A13) entitled, "Positive Lessons Learned from Online School."  Ben Lukoski puts his finger on the obvious: students who have spend a year learning on-line will have a fluency with technology and a "skill set that will serve them well."  They will be better able to communicate or interview in on-line settings (email, e-messaging, online chats, online meetings).  They will have better time and calendar management skills -- after all, they've had to monitor their own due-dates using on-line applications. 

I'll piggy back on Mr Lukoski's Op-Ed.  This year's students will have greater problem-solving skills as they've needed to figure out on their own why their zoom isn't working or why canvas keeps circling around to that page they didn't need.  They will have greater patience with themselves and each other.  They will have an appreciation for others -- now that they've missed their friends so much, they will appreciate their company so much more.  Most importantly, these young people have learned to persevere.  They haven't been able to rely on others for immediate answers; they haven't been able to rest back on a previously learned strategy.  

Perseverance.  It's a character trait that can be learned and developed.  It's transferrable.  A parent contacted me about mid-way through the trimester complaining that I had given too much homework and his daughter was working too hard. "She's frustrated, and she's been working on this math problem for two hours and won't stop."   Humbled and feeling spaghetti-lashed, I said, "Oh no, I never intended to give an assignment that long."  Then I stopped. She worked for 2 hours on a math problem?  TWO HOURS?  What 15-year-old does that?  Her effort, persistence, and passion were what drove her -- and what a strong and positive statement about her character!  What does this mean about her future as an academician?  As a problem solver?  As an employee or employer?  If she learned nothing else this trimester, she learned to persevere.  That's more important than anything else learned from the text.  I'm proud to have been her teacher.  

This young woman is not the only one who learned to persevere.  I have stories about each teen in my classroom and what gift each young person brought to our classroom and to me. As I start this week to compose the comments that you all will read in a couple weeks, I will enjoy thinking of your sons' and daughters' growth this trimester. 

When class ends, some students click on that "LEAVE MEETING" button really fast, but there's always a cacophony of  "Thank You" as those small rectangles disappear swiftly.  Imagine that: these young people are saying thank you to their teacher for teaching them math remotely.  

Thank you for sharing your children with me; thank you for trusting me with their math education.