T RAIDER RESILIENCE: Embracing New Challenges and Upping Our Game During the Global Pandemic
he pandemic thrust us into a very different way of proceeding this past school year. In responding to an everchanging landscape of health and safety requirements, we
relied on our resourcefulness and creativity. In seeking to present the full complement of our programming, we learned much about our capabilities and capacity to make dramatic shifts in how we undertake this critical work. Here, two of our students—Molly Nichols ‘23 and Mason Harris ’24—share the places where our resilience as a community shone through despite the challenges we faced together.
A New Way of Teaching…Virtually In the midst of a pandemic, it’s been difficult to adjust to a different way of life, including new ways of teaching for fourthyear social studies teacher, Leslie Diedrich. Making the most out of shorter class periods and schedule changes, teachers needed to focus on which topics were a priority to teach. “I thought if I only have this much time with students, what would I want them to remember about my class five years into the future,” Diedrich says. Teaching online created a sense of disconnect with students, especially for teachers who love student discussion. There were also issues involving technology and lack of focus. “Some of the failures I had to realize were out of my control,” she explains. “It’s just the nature of online teaching.” Some changes to her approach Diedrich hopes to carry into further years. “Getting away from lectures, doing more group work as a way of getting students to have relationships with T H E R A I D E R | SUMMER 2021
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