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I suppose it’s serendipitous a peculiar spectacle took place on Saturday night, Nov. 28, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. For whatever not so bizarre reason (money), boxing legends Mike Tyson, 54, and Roy Jones Jr., 51, mounted an eight-round exhibition (two minutes each) as the headliners of a $50 pay-per-view event. The fight ended in an unofficial draw.
But who would ever think that educators to describe the disastrous attempt at distance learning would use a Mike Tyson quote a few times during the pandemic.
His famous 1996 quote (pre first Holyfield fight) “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth” captures the feeling of those who have tried to pull off an underdog victory against on-line learning. Everyone, especially teachers, have been knocked out in their efforts to make it all work.
THE NEW ABNORMAL
In an ideal world, this would not be our world. I laugh when hearing discussions about the New Normal. Since we couldn’t do what was needed to even prevent a New Normal – there’s nothing to think that our selfishness and apathy won’t create a New Normal 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and so on.
And with each New Normal, the odds of effectively teaching our kids become more of a sure losing bet. Teachers have been Rocky in this teaching experiment. Apollo Creed is none other than the villainous Zoom.
Millions of students trying to learn through Zoom have gone down in defeat. So why does it still feel like a corporate meeting app that has been pulverized into an education platform?
Last spring, when shelter-in-place orders went into effect, teachers heroically tried to adapt their classrooms to the virtual world. Some had assistants, whose primary job was to mute and unmute kids in Zoom to imitate the experience of calling on students in class.
HELLO…I CAN’T HEAR YOU!
The task is brutal. You have to scan a Brady Bunch-style grid of two dozen wiggling children for raised hands, click “unmute” under one of their names, and cross your fingers that they are not muted on their end (half the time, they are).
Countless teachers are still dealing with a litany of problems. So just imagine the fear over Christmas Break, as teachers trying to rest between rounds know upon returning to the ring that a well-rested Zoom will again attempt to pummel them into submission. And to think this is all in the name of remotely trying to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
Conventional wisdom has it that remote learning is an inferior substitute for in-person classes; useful only in an emergency that threatens the health and safety of teachers, students, and staff.
NO MAS!
And it’s true that the circumstances around distance learning pose tremendous challenges, exacerbating inequity and difficult demands on working parents. But it’s not just the online classes delivering a poor performance; it’s also the remote platforms that are delivering constant body blows to teachers and students.
In practice, the experience is more complicated. Last month, Zoom has gone down an unlimited amount of times. It has even experienced several high-profile hacking incidents, which caused New York City schools and other districts to temporarily ban Zoom.
They need to create a KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) experience for all parties. If not, Zoom could be ceding its sizable competitive advantage with their current starring role as the main event in the ring of U.S. education. If it does not become a fan favorite, the outcome will be disastrous since aspects of distance learning will simply not be knocked out even long after COVID-19 throws in the towel.
GONNA FLY NOW MUSIC HERE
So let us hope for a day where teachers, students and educators alike can be seen running up the 72 stone steps of the Philadelphia Museum again proving that underdogs can indeed win and rise to a challenge of an unavoidable rematch with the much feared Zoom.
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.
