Back to all

Teaching and the virus ?

Picture of Michael
Michael

Like many teachers around the world, I have spent most of 2020 teaching remotely. Talking to my computer screen, day after day, has become my new normal. In fact, I am struggling to remember what it is like to teach in the classroom.

I am extremely fortunate to teach at a school, and in an area of Melbourne, where our families have the income to arm their children with the technology at home to enable us to deliver lessons online each day.

To begin with, it was novel. I have participated in many online courses, so the chance to be the instructor, rather than the participant, was fun. I felt I had a grasp of the technology and was able to adapt my lessons for online delivery.

However as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, it was becoming clear that one major element was missing. Face to face interactions. It’ a simple as that. The ability to have a laugh, a deep conversation, a ‘aha’ moment is not the same over the internet. Zoom and Google meets are a way to spend time with each other, but not the best way.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not saying the only way you can teach is in the physical classroom. In fact, I hope that out of COVID-19 we see a revolution in education. A blog for another day.

However teenagers crave contact. They enjoy each others company, physically. This was no  more evident than when we had students on campus at the end of term 2, under stage 3 restrictions, where students were asked to keep 1.5m from each other. They couldn’t do it. No matter how often teachers asked for students to seperate, they wanted to be near each other.

Now technology has come along way and there are so many ways you can connect with your students through the screen. Chat boxes, emojis, Kahoot’s are all interactive ways to keep students engaged. But it can’t replace the opportunity to be in a non-virtual room with each other, enjoying each other physical company.

As a theatre practitioner, an online only model, adds another layer of complexities. While virtual drama classes are currently common practice, and do have a place in an overall educational program, they are not sustainable.

I am going to cherish every moment, for the rest of 2020, when I have students in my classroom again. I will use the skills I have learnt teaching remotely and include them as part of my overall pedagogy moving froward. I will work with those that want to evolve education in Australia.

But no computer can replace physical human interaction to create amazing art.

You might also enjoy
Book Review: Elevated Conversations

There are few things more familiar in schools than collaborative time that begins with good intentions but does not quite lead anywhere. Meetings happen, discussion takes place, yet it can feel as though the real work never quite gets done. Elevated Conversations by Simon Breakspear tackles this challenge in a practical and realistic way.

One of the strengths of the book is how clearly Breakspear describes what many educators experience but rarely name. He refers to “weary talk”, conversations that go around in circles, where some voices dominate, others disengage, and time runs out before anything meaningful shifts. This is not framed as a problem with people, but as a problem of structure. Bringing people together is not enough on its own. Good collaboration needs to be designed.
Book Review: Grounded

Every now and then a leadership book arrives at the right moment. Not because it introduces entirely new ideas, but because it gives language and structure to things many leaders already sense but rarely make time to explore.

Grounded by Katrina Bourke is one of those books.

At its heart, Grounded is not a book about leadership techniques. It is a book about leadership as a human practice.

Grounded is a calm and thoughtful contribution to the leadership space. It does not promise quick wins or dramatic change. Instead, it offers a framework for understanding yourself more deeply so that your leadership of others becomes clearer and more intentional.

For leaders in education, it is a timely reminder that leadership is not only about what we do, but about who we are while doing it.
Conversations on Leadership, AI, and the Arts

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to contribute to a number of podcast conversations, as well as host a series myself during lockdown. Each of these experiences gave me a chance to step back from the day-to-day of school life and reflect more broadly on the issues shaping education.

Across these episodes I’ve explored a range of themes: how the arts have influenced my leadership, the opportunities and challenges of AI in classrooms, and the behind-the-scenes realities of staging a school musical. I’ve also had the chance to talk with students and colleagues about community, connection, and the ways schools can adapt in times of disruption.