• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts

The Educators Room logo

  • Start Here
    • Impact Statements: Teacher Expertise
    • Newsletter
  • Browse Topics
    • Content Strategies
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Social Studies
      • Educational Technology
      • ELL & ESOL
      • Fine Arts
      • Special Education
      • Popular Topics
        • Teacher Self-Care
        • Instructional Coach Files
        • Common Core
        • The Traveling Teacher
        • The Unemployed Teacher
        • The New Teacher Chronicles
        • Book Review
        • Grade Levels
          • Elementary (K-5)
          • Middle (6-8)
          • Adult
          • New Teacher Bootcamp
          • Hot Button Topics
            • Menu Item
              • Principals' Corner
              • Charter Schools
              • Confessions of a Teacher
              • Interviews
              • The State of Education
              • Stellar Educator of the Week
            • Menu
              • How to Fix Education
              • Featured
              • Ask a Teacher
              • Teacher Branding
              • Current Events
  • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course
    • Becoming An Educational Consultant
    • Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts
    • The Learning Academy
    • Books
    • Shirts
  • Education in Atlanta
  • Teacher Self-Care
  • The Coach's Academy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts
×

June 1, 2020 Confessions of a Teacher

A Teacher's Love-Hate-Love Relationship with Zoom

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Jake Miller

Mr. Jake Miller is the 2016 National History Day Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, a 2017 NEA Global Fellow to China, and a former candidate for county-wide office. Miller has written more than 500 articles, most of which have appeared on The Educator's Room. He's the opening contributor to TER's book When the Fire Is Gone. Learn more about Jake at www.MrJakeMiller.com
  • The Student-Teaching Model Is Outdated: Here's How We Can Do Better - September 15, 2021
  • Visualize: How Seeing What's Coming Changed My Teaching - August 16, 2021
  • 10 Lessons About Teaching from My Youngest Son - June 24, 2021
  • Ending the Epithet “Try-Hard” Once and for All in Classrooms - June 18, 2021
  • From STEM, Let's Pivot to the BRANCHES of the Humanities - May 25, 2021
  • Would Education Collapse If Teachers Stopped Working for Free? - May 20, 2021
  • 10 Ways to Teach Like Ted Lasso: Part II - April 21, 2021
  • 8 Tips So Your Substitute Plans Don't Suck - April 14, 2021
  • 10 Ways to Teach Like Ted Lasso: Part I - March 12, 2021
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers: Habit 3 - First Things First - February 26, 2021

"Bing Bong."

Thirty years from now when I hear the sound of someone entering a Zoom room, I'll have vivid memories of just how much I loved, hated, and loved about online learning through this platform.

  • LOVE - Seeing my students
    Just about every day, I'm checking in with my students and seeing their faces. My students are my passion for my profession, and my relationship with them is the biggest currency
  • HATE* - Not seeing all my students
    The hardest part about this is so many of my students don't check-in. In other districts where check-ins are mandatory, that doesn't mean they're willing or even more importantly able to do it
  • LOVE - Being able to connect with any students at any time
    We need to have a quick meeting to discuss about a project? Oh, just 5 of you don't get it? Great. See you at 4:30 p.m.
  • HATE - Being at work all the time
    Our district implemented weekly check-in at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday evenings, which meant a solid 75+% of my 8th-grade students were trying to cram in all their lessons on Saturday, and, when they didn't understand something, always had a question that night
  • LOVE - The features of Zoom
    There really are some great things that Zoom has - break out rooms, recording the conversation, a typed chat, background images, ease and accessibility on phones and computers
  • HATE - Zoom fatigue
    All these great features have worn me out and I'm just tired of sitting, which is also a good lesson for any teacher in the classroom
  • LOVE - Seeing what life is like for my students
    I am a big fan of home visits and wish we were able to do more to break down the boundaries between home and school; this was as close as it got
  • HATE - Seeing what life is like for my students
    My heart went out for so many kids who were so embarrassed to show their homes when kids asked for "show and tell" or a house tour. Even worse when kids get yelled at by their parents while they're on a Zoom call
  • LOVE - Being able to connect with friends and family I'd taken for granted
    My friends from college and I have never talked more and been more connected since we graduated 15 years ago
  • HATE - Not being able to share comforting silence with them
    One of my friends just went through a divorce, another's wife just lost a child, and another is struggling with things. Sometimes it would be nice to just light a backyard fire and stare at that over a beer rather than the fire of a late-night computer screen
  • LOVE - Fanning through a sea of eager faces
    As we watched the final video of the year, with photos recapping our great memories together, I loved being able to scan through the faces and see how kids were reacting, as their smiles and tears reinforced just how great a school year we had
  • HATE - No eye contact
    We're so consumed with how we look on the screen as we see ourselves talking (and how odd that is) that our number one distraction is this; the number 2 issue is to look at someone's eyes means diverting attention from the camera, so one can't look into another's eyes
  • LOVE - It's filled a gap and done so quite well and quite quickly
    Seriously, who knew what Zoom was before this mess? For the company to step up and fill a huge void not just in education, but in our connection with one another, it's incredibly wonderful
  • HATE# - I'd trade Zoom for my classroom any day, any second, any situation -- and so would my students
    Online charter schools can keep their thing. I like the presence of being in the classroom, with others, building community and establishing relationships. My biggest worry is we start off next school year with kids we have no relationship with, and the learning will suffer.
  • LOVE - It's reminded me how many simple things I've taken for granted
    Stepping across the hallways to talk to my colleagues. Joking with kids. Seeing them smile. Seeing the sun peer through my classroom windows in the morning. Having a kid stop by to say hi before going to lunch. Lunch duty, of all things. The look of kids when they hit the "a-ha" moment. The chatter of kids excitedly working together.

Man, I miss it. And I can wait to go back, but not a minute longer than we have to.

 

*It's well within my understanding that "hate" is a very charged word, but it is common vernacular to have a "love-hate" relationship with items.

#Readers will notice that most of my disdain for Zoom has little to do with the company, and more to do with the wishful return to in-person contact, communication, and education

Zoom

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

Virtual LearningChildren Left Behind: Virtual Learning Isn't the Culprit 10 Years Later: 10 Takeaways on the iPhone and Education FineOpinion: Right Now Things Are Hard, But It's Going to Be Fine COVID-192020: An Educator's Summer of Waiting on COVID-19
« Teachers & School Administrators: Check On Your Black Co-Workers & Black Staff
Obstinance Has No Place in Teaching and Learning »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

The Educator's Room was launched in 2012 to amplify the voice of educators. To date, we have over 45+ writers from around the world and boast over twelve million page views. Through articles, events, and social media we will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about how to improve public education. This mission is especially important when reporting on education in our community; therefore, we commit our readers to integrity, accuracy, and independence in education reporting. To join our mailing list, click here.

What we do

At The Educator's Room, we focus on amplifying and honoring the voice of educators as experts in education. To date, we have over 40 staff writers/teachers from around the world.

Popular Posts

  • 6 Reasons to Use Read-Alouds Daily
  • The Secret Ingredients of Lesson Planning
  • The Exhaustion of Black Educators on Another "Day After"
  • Behind the Mask

Featured On

Buy Our Books/Courses

How to Leave Your Job in Education

Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant

Check out our books on teaching and learning!

The Learning Academy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

 

Copyright © 2021 The Educator's Room.