What's App?

 I'm the computer teacher. At an elementary school. Have been for many years. But you might already know this. What you might not know is that I am still doing that job. Even as the little darlings are logging in from living rooms, bedrooms and hallways across our city, I am still the computer teacher. 

Only now it means something different. It means that I am talking to a whole lot of grownups about how to keep the little darlings connected to their Zoom meetings and all the online applications we have procured in hopes of simulating their elementary school experience. 

I did say "simulating," didn't I? I did not say "stimulating." Here are two things I will not insist to you: First, I will not for a second try to convince you that I am not working with incredibly committed and ingenious educators. Secondly, I will not tell you that we are doing the best job. We cannot. While it would be unfair to say that we are making this up as we go along, that was this past spring, it would be fair to point out just how incredibly steep the learning curve is for teachers. Students are being very patient with us as we figure this out. 

One of the most frequent questions I field from my table positioned just inside the front gate of our school are the ones about streaming live video. We have two hundred fifty students all hopping online around the same time every morning, five days a week, to connect with their teacher and classmates just like they always used to. Except now they are doing it over a video application that none of us had heard of a year ago and testing the bandwidth of a city whose neighborhoods are not covered by fiber optic lines. Our network is cobbled together with pieces of a dozen different Internet Service Providers, public wi-fi and district supported hotspots. The fact that the overwhelming majority of our families have been and continue to be connected to the curriculum we are putting together is a testament to all the had work being done.

And still it's not the same as going to school. It's a lot like being on social media. Which brings me back around to how long I have been doing this job. Before Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Tik Tok or any of the various and sundry platforms that I was asked to explore and consequently warn parents about. Part of my job as computer teacher was to remind students and teachers and anyone else who would listen about the appropriate use of screen time. Once a year I would even sponsor a screen-free week. This past May, it was cancelled. 

For now, we keep encouraging kids to log in and pay attention. Remember this is school, after all. Sit up straight. Turn your mic and camera on. Put the cat down. Time for us to learn. All of us.