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September 16, 2020 Ask a Teacher

Was Someone Actually High When They Proposed The Hybrid Teaching Model?

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Laura Brown

The more I teach, the more my compassion for students, parents, and teachers grows. Thank you for reading my thoughts.
  • Hey Teachers, It's July; How Are Y'all Doing? - July 12, 2021
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  • Nobody Trusts Teachers - February 3, 2021
  • How Did Students Feel About the Presidential Inauguration? "I Feel Safer Today, Mrs. Brown." - January 22, 2021
  • How Do I Explain America To My Students Tomorrow? - January 6, 2021
  • Teachers: The Way Home Is Through Baghdad - January 4, 2021
  • My Students Are Getting Me Through This Pandemic - November 23, 2020
  • So, How Is [COVID] School Going? - October 23, 2020
  • Was Someone Actually High When They Proposed The Hybrid Teaching Model? - September 16, 2020

The dark circles under my eyes have returned.  

The fatigue is deep and familiar--it feels like January tired.

And, today is only my third day of teaching in the hybrid model!

My husband asked me how the first day went. I replied:  "It was not my best opening day." 

On the first day, I taught sans caffeine and eyeglasses. I had no time for coffee, and with each utterance, my glasses fogged. The mask impeded sight and sipping. So basically, I was blind and dull. 

The second day, which was slightly better, was not my best day, either.  

Today is the third day--virtual-only day--the day I go to my classroom, but all students remain home.  

My school's hybrid model includes cohort A students attending school on Mondays and Thursdays, while cohort B students attend on Tuesdays and Fridays. When not in school, or for students who are remote-only, students join every class period via Google Meet while the teacher live-streams their lessons. 

This model seems practical at first glance. Heck, we are in the middle of the pandemic, but in upstate New York, where I teach high school social studies, our virus numbers are low. It is time to return to school. We all need the structure and the connection. I am trying to be positive, but I wonder if the hybrid model is the best approach?   

Students have dutifully donned masks, sat in designated seats six feet apart, and have ceased to mingle in the halls between classes. The once vibrant halls are ghostly. 

Teachers have four minutes between back-to-back classes where they must clean "used" desks and seat the incoming class in "unused" seats.

I feel sort of like a busboy. Click To Tweet

Once students "arrive," teachers take attendance via Google Meet for the virtual students and recognize the actual students. I have never been "good" at attendance. My brain is always on the main entree--how I will deliver a delicious lesson to my students--attendance is an annoying necessity.  

During the entire thirty-seven minute lesson, I am serving two masters. I want to engage both groups--because all students matter. I am delivering a new lesson every day, so I must try to connect with all students each period. I could lecture, but I know that is not teaching. Without interaction, lecturing is simply the teacher talking--it is too passive. Instead, I have an arsenal of technology and techniques at my disposal.

However, technology is only useful if it works. 

Upon returning home on the second day, my daughter, a sophomore at my school, inquired about my day. I told her that it was slightly better than the first, but I had a student making farting-like and other distracting noises while on Google Meet.  It is never a positive sign to call a parent on the second day of school!

My daughter, who is in cohort A,  told me that she could not hear or see some of her teachers well and that her younger sister while playing Roblox, sucked all the bandwidth from the internet connection.  She felt disconnected and wanted desperately to be back in the school building five days a week. 

After hearing about my daughters' remote days, I became nervous.  Was the second day that much better? Did my students at home, especially my remote-only students, actually learned anything from me over the first two days? Were those days wasted energy? If so, I am exhausted for nothing?

Today, I decided to post a Google Form survey for my students concerning how well the technology is working.  It is not yet 8 am and the over twenty plus responses reveal my students' reality--learning from home is a technological nightmare. Teachers will need to make big changes.

How sustainable is this live-streaming hybrid model? How much content can successfully be delivered? Why is New York State holding school districts to requirements of the past (like fire drills, lock-down drills, the 180-day attendance, and standardized tests) in the middle of a freaking pandemic?  We cannot teach like before, how can a school function like it did in the past?

Many school leaders have embraced the hybrid and live-stream teaching model.  I appreciate that it sounds like the best plan on paper.  Unfortunately, like any cannabis-induced idea, hybrid live-stream learning seemed like a great plan that, in reality, will (I fear) only lead to frustration and burn-out. 

Hybrid Teaching

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Related posts:

Teacher Self-CareDon’t Read the Comments: Digital Teacher Self Care Virtual High SchoolThe Virtual High School Teaching Experience: I Teach to Dots "It's Time To Make The Donuts:" Teaching in 2020-2021 Take One For the Team: The Need for Self-Care
« Reimagining Schools After COVID-19
It's A Done Deal... I Quit My Teaching Job Two Weeks Before School Started »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Holly Hobbs says

    September 17, 2020 at 5:43 am

    I love the idea of a survey to get feedback on their technology use and Internet connections. Could you share the survey? I would like to use it for my students as well.

    Reply

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