Teachers Deal With Virtual Learning

Throughout the past year, teachers at Danny Jones Middle School have had to teach both virtually and in person due to COVID-19.

Eighth-grade US History teacher Casey Sullivan said he prefers in-person classes more because he likes having his students in class.

“I like having students in class,” He said. “Virtual students  are awesome, but I really prefer having my students in front of me”

Mayor Greg Abbott said he is permanently opening stores to the maximum capacity and it is not mandatory to wear masks anymore.

Sullivan said teachers protect students by wearing their masks and cleaning tables after each class 

“In class, we wear our masks, and we make sure we sanitize our tables after every single class,” he said.”We try to keep our space as best we can but we try to be responsible.”

Coach Kellie Williams prefers in-person classes to virtual.

She said students understand more if the teacher is physically there and she can also help them individually if they’re struggling with something. 

“In my virtual classes, they don’t really talk to me when I ask them questions which makes it a little hard to help them with something when they don’t communicate with me,” she said. 

Coach Stephanie Lewis also prefers in-person learning.

Lewis said that when teaching in-person, it’s easier to see where students struggle and can efficiently provide help.

“I prefer in person because I can see what students are doing and can help them better when I can see where they might be getting something wrong,” she said.

Besides wearing masks and wiping down desks, teachers now have one-way hallways in order to keep students and themselves safe from the spread of COVID-19. They also have to rethink group projects for in-person students, incorporating technology into lessons.

According to Courtney Brunicardi, a language arts teacher at Danny Jones, technology has become easier to use throughout virtual learning.

“I have become more familiar with all of our online tools,” Brunicardi said, “and so that is a huge positive, because that’s definitely the way our world is going right now.”