I had my first day of classes after my compassionate leave ended today. I've peeked into a few of the Zoom classes, and Zoom is...bad. I think we all know that Zoom is bad, but we also know that there is no way to recreate the connection of in-person teaching and Zoom is the "least worst option."
It was also odd to be in a class with students in masks while I'm trying to learn names, but whatever.
What is proving to be very hard is hybrid teaching. In class, I have most of my students sitting in front of me, distanced, wearing masks, but I also have anywhere from 1-4 students Zooming into the class. Their educational experience is not likely to be a great one. Most learning happens on the student's time and in the student's mind. These students have basically been given way more responsibility for their education than most can reasonably handle. I can't imagine how the 9th grader from Singapore is acclimating to this model.
I will likely wind up teaching my classes, then having a separate session or two per week for my international students learning from home (where it's 12:30AM for them).
I've loved teaching, for all its faults and foibles. For the first time, I don't know if I would do this if I had a choice not to.
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