Here’s one teacher’s perspective on Teaching in Time of Quarantine:
I feel inadequate. I consider myself fairly technologically adept. Ours is a 1:1 school, which means every student has a Chromebook; and textbooks, assignments, and communication all happen via technology. I use Power Points, videos, and other resources in my classroom. But distance learning has thrown in so much more: Recorded lectures, 
Zoom class meetings, Google Classrooms…it’s a serious learning curve, and a ton of new information to assimilate.
I feel overwhelmed. You’d think this would be easier than classroom teaching. That’s what I thought a month ago! But it’s not. And it isn’t just because of the aforementioned technology. What I used to be able to just mention in class, or explain, or even repeat, I now have to put on 2-3 different online programs. When I used to be able to grab a student to remind him/her of missing work, I now need to email that student and the parent, sometimes attempting to call and text, as well. Even then, students are missing assignments, confused, behind, or just “invisible.”
I feel unsure. I’m used to gauging my students’ comprehension by their nonverbal cues – I know when they get something and when they don’t. I know when I can fly through material, and when I need to slow down or repeat it. But I can’t see them when I’m recording lectures. And even when we are together live, the screens freeze and I lose students. Or they just aren’t comfortable talking. My teaching style, for a decade and half, has relied heavily on interaction – in large groups and small groups, formal and informal. Hearing students talk helps me know what they understand and what they don’t. But I can’t do that now, so I don’t know if they’re really getting the material, really doing the work; I don’t know whether they’re bored or engaged or confused. I just don’t know. And I hate not knowing.
I feel concerned. Not just because I don’t know if my students are learning – although that concerns me. But I’m also concerned for their well-being. I am blessed to have a very peaceful home life, but I know there are many families in crisis. There are homes where jobs have been lost, where tempers are short, where personalities are clashing. And even though I teach at a Christian school, I know that some of my students are likely in some of those homes. So them finishing their assignments really isn’t their biggest problem. And because they can’t “escape”, they may not be able to tell anyone what’s going on, they may not be able to get help that they need.
I feel ungrateful. I recognize I am fortunate. I have a job! My husband has a job. We can pay our bills, and our grocery stores have everything we need. My kids are safe and healthy. My husband and I get to walk every day – in San Diego, where the weather is almost always perfect and the views are spectacular. And yet I know so many people aren’t nearly as fortunate. Several friends have lost family members during this time, several have lost jobs. People I love are lonely, struggling, battling all kinds of difficulties. I feel so ungrateful for my petty complaints in the face of those whose struggles are so much more intense.
One thing I know — God wasn’t taken by surprise when COVID-19 hit. He was, is, and always will be in control. So, while I acknowledge my feelings, I won’t allow those feelings to dictate how I act, how I teach, or how I live. I’ll surrender them to the One “who who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20
