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As an occasional sub, I’ve Zoomed it all, seen it all, and heard it all. You want to help kids succeed in virtual learning, but more times than not, it simply feels unrealistic.
Because of the pandemic, the bar for “class discipline” has been lowered to the point where students simply walk over it. But, as crazy as it sounds, it’s a win-win for everyone.
In the “normal world,” it’s impossible to monitor these digital kids as to whether they are using their phones for class assignments, to watch and sometimes create their own TikTok, videos, play 2020’s hottest global game Among Us or the usual non-stop texting and Instagram-ing.
These kids have mastered the excuses – “I need the phone for my assignments and I have to use my phone as a hotspot.” Short of looking over their shoulders – you’re helpless.
BEFORE AND AFTER
In a bricks and mortar classroom – non-stop cell phone use, class disturbances and refusing to do work usually results in a one-way ticket to the principal’s office. But that was then…
This is now…there is one thing about virtual learning that makes the lives of every student, principal, and teacher easier: no disciplinary action. I have not heard of a single suspension that has gone down during the pandemic.
It’s safe to say that no administrator would complain about not feeling the need to discipline or suspend kids – particularly in lower-income neighborhoods. Teachers simply cannot spend what seems like always in disciplinary meetings. Now, in the virtual world, suspensions are an afterthought. And the worst a student can do in virtual learning is not show up.
NO MATTER WHERE, A NO SHOW IS A NO SHOW
The pandemic has forced discipline to take a back seat to simply trying to teach. A misbehaving kid in school usually plays hooky online. It should then be no surprise that the students who get in trouble the most often in the “Real Classroom” have the lowest attendance in the “Zoom Classroom.”
Classroom management is now just an afterthought in virtual learning. When a student is misbehaving and using profanity you can just eliminate their “Brady Bunch Box.”
Teachers have even been Zoom-Bombed after their classroom link was shared on Instagram. So what do you do? – you just kick them out of class. The “delete” button has become a powerful “teaching tool” in protecting the lesson at hand and the teacher’s sanity.
JUST DO IT
● If a student chooses not to turn on their camera during instruction – just mark them absent.
● When students record TikToks during class – just kick them off of the call.
● When students utter profanity – just mute them.
● If a student doesn’t do their work or has failing grades – just let the student and parents know.
● When a student doesn’t show up to class (this time) – just let a parent know.
FOR NOW, IT DOESN’T MATTER AS MUCH
The pandemic has caused teaching pros and cons. Some students still don’t show in their virtual seat, but those numbers are minimal compared to the spring.
And that’s one of the major benefits to forced virtual learning — a shift in teacher mindset where student discipline is mainly a non-factor.
For as much of a drag that virtual learning is for everyone, it at least allows teachers to focus on teaching without disturbance or student distraction.
Virtual learning has been, more or less, a respite (except for the tech issues) for teachers who in “normal times” deal with the daily hassle of policing their classes.
And with that said, for however long it lasts, the pandemic will continue to disrupt class – not the students.
This column is by Ritchie Lucas, Founder of The Student Success Project and Think Factory Consulting. He can be reached at 305-788-4105 or email at ritchie@thinkfactory.com and on Facebook and You Tube as The Student Success Project. NOTE: Guest contributor Lori Moldovan, Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern, was unavailable for this column due to her extremely heavy caseload related to the pandemic.
