‘Good morning, sweet girl’: A day in the life of an online teacher
The third graders lean in to type, turning the Zoom classroom into a mosaic of mostly foreheads. Answering equations in an app monitored by their teacher, some L.O. Kimberly Elementary School scholars mouth along as their fingers find the keys.
A math test looms tomorrow and it’s time to review. Jimi’ Rogers knows the stakes: Of the dozen students in her virtual class, five are struggling to meet math benchmarks. Yet she stays calm and encouraging this Tuesday morning as she asks them to add 349 and 145 – and show how they arrived at the answer.
“I really appreciate the hard work,” Ms. Rogers tells them. Her home office is hidden by a Zoom background, a digital chalkboard with Atlanta Public Schools’ logo. “I’ll give you about four minutes to do this, OK?”
Before she utters “OK,” a student has typed in the chat: my dog step on my keyborad
Another girl unmutes herself to announce
Fresh respect “Locus of control”