14 minute read
Teaching & Learning TOGETHER from a Distance
In mid-March, the steady and predictable rhythm of the school year was suddenly thrown out of sync by COVID-19. As the pandemic loomed, students and faculty began their two-week break thinking it might be an extra week or two before they’d be together on campus again. Instead, when school resumed at the end of March, our classrooms and church pews sat empty. Still, our teachers continued to teach, our students continued to learn and Headmaster Burke continued to lead, serving as a calming and comforting voice in a time of crisis. The ability of our faculty to migrate so rapidly to a virtual environment and our students to adapt to distance learning is a testament to the strength of our school community.
Michael Nerbonne
ASSISTANT HEADMASTER & DEAN OF STUDIES
Early on, when we started talking about distance learning, Bill Burke and I recognized that departments were going to play a key role. The curriculum is delivered in a departmental way for a reason. Faculty in each department collaborated, with the help of our IT staff, to figure out the best way to teach their discipline in a distance format, sharing ideas and learning from each other’s expertise.
There was an “all hands on deck” attitude as faculty worked through March break. This speaks to Bill’s leadership and our school culture that was already there—we’re here to serve our students and their families. Nobody knew if this was going to work, even just technologically; there was a fear of the unknown for all of us. Yet, there was this feeling that we’re all in this together and pulling in the same direction.
There were several broad administrative decisions we had to make, from the schedule to grades. We started out strong with classes five days a week, knowing that it’s better and easier to back off from something than to try to add it later. After hearing feedback that it was too much screen time for both students and faculty, we ratcheted classes back to four days and held advisor and class meetings on the fifth day. We also kept Corporate Chapel going each morning, with Bill delivering remarks and critiques of the chapel speeches each Monday. We continued to give grades, which turned out to be a good decision. Our students really care about their own achievement.
When I talk about why distance learning worked for St. Sebastian’s, I use the words dedication and talent. Sometimes a school can have one and not the other. I feel we have both. If you’re a really good teacher, and you care about teaching, this distance thing is a hurdle, but it’s not a wall. You’re not going to give up on teaching because you’re faced with this challenge. You’re going to find a way. That’s at the core of what happened here.
Brendan Sullivan
DEAN OF STUDENTS
In the days leading up to March break, colleges had started to send kids home and there was a growing sense that something was going to happen. We told students to grab all their textbooks and be ready to learn from home after break. It was incredible timing that we went on vacation as all this unfolded.
Our faculty embraced the adversity and were ready to go on March 30. There’s a lot of teachers that have been here for a long time and because they love it, they committed themselves to making distance learning work. I expected them to rise to the challenge, but they exceeded my expectations.
The curriculum mostly stayed the same, but the 40-minute lessons took a lot of preparation to make sure students stayed engaged and had a chance to interact. The faculty also tried to find the right balance between assignments that required screen time and those that didn’t. I heard feedback from students that although the amount of homework was less, being in one room and one space and then having assignments to do after classes made it more difficult to accomplish.
Knowing that they were going to be graded helped motivate students and also brought a sense of normalcy, that this is still school. Those assessments were important in terms of continuing a strong curriculum, helping the students see where they stood and giving faculty a sense of where to adjust. The boys didn’t want to let their teachers or their parents down. The parents also had a huge part to play in the success of distance learning by making sure the students had a space to work and were on time to classes and the Wi-Fi was working.
The biggest challenge for me was not being able to sit down and talk to a student to understand why something’s not going well. Those reasons often come out in a face-to-face conversation and that was a piece I really missed and believe is so important. We develop deep relationships here, and distance learning does not lend itself as well to deepening those connections. That’s why we really want to be back together and building on those relationships in September.
David Cornish
DIRECTOR OF GRADES 7 & 8, ENGLISH & CLASSICS FACULTY
During the 46 years I’ve been teaching, I’ve become used to using the blackboard, distributing much of my instruction on paper and editing hard copies of students’ work. Switching to distance learning was a major effort and I could not have done it without the support of my colleagues. During March break, the IT Team provided individual support, English and Classics Department chairmen Chris Lynch and Sean Albertson generously spent hours showing me how to manage my classes through the Teams platform, Ed McCarthy and I exchanged ideas on ways to virtually teach Romeo and Juliet, and my son taught me how to edit a paper online.
I was initially skeptical about how successful video conferencing classes would run and if our younger students could remain attentive over the course of the school day. I was immediately impressed with how cooperative my students were. We had perfect attendance on the first day and nearly every day afterward. Some 7th and 8th graders, who had struggled earlier in the year, thrived on the technological challenges of the program, giving them an extra boost of confidence and motivation.
I kept to the same classroom routine I established throughout the first three quarters of the year, frequently sharing my screen with the students to review assignments and informational documents. Although I could not see all the boys on my screen at once and impromptu discussions were more challenging, I felt that I was ultimately able to deliver instruction as clearly as I would in class. Reading students’ papers online allowed me to give more final feedback because the space to do so was infinite, not limited by the length of a piece of lined paper! One of the best parts about distance learning was the ability to call up a student online and meet with him “face to face” to review his work or prepare for a test. Although I enjoyed these individual online meetings, being in the classroom, in the hallways, and on the playing fields with my students every day is and always will be the best and most rewarding part of my vocation.
Ryan DuFour ’21
In sort of a weird way, I was a little bit excited to see what distance learning would be like. I thought that there would be many problems right off the bat, however my teachers were incredibly prepared and spent their March break making sure that they were fully ready.
In the beginning, the hardest part of distance learning was the workload. However, once my teachers learned that we were a little overwhelmed, they dialed back the homework and better communicated with each other to avoid scheduling projects and quizzes on the same day. After only a week or two, I found myself very comfortable with the routine and thinking about it as “normal.” I had adapted to the situation and had begun to forget how very strange and unprecedented the times were and still are.
At no point did I feel like I was all alone and had to figure out a new system all by myself. Collaboration with my classmates was one of the most important aspects during distance learning. I would consistently text or facetime with them, either to ask small questions or to work together on assignments. My teachers made very conscious efforts every day to check in and see how everything was going and did an amazing job of allowing all of us to talk for a little bit at the beginning of class before we jumped into a lesson. They were always accessible for extra time on Zoom calls. I was also able to stay in contact with my advisor, Headmaster Burke. We had a great facetime call where he made sure I was doing all right with distance learning and was very supportive.
It was incredible to me that the situation was so different than our normal school day, but it still felt the same in that I could feel the support and love of St. Sebastian’s community behind me even though we weren’t physically together.
Mark Nelson
MATH FACULTY
When I first heard I would have to teach my classes from home, I thought “oh boy, time to put the thinking cap on and figure this out!” I kept coming back to the thought of how fortunate we are to be a part of a school with great resources and such a tight knit community. Those two things helped immensely.
I spent March break talking with advisees, colleagues, friends, and family to get their take on how to best proceed with teaching from a distance and plugging away at a different style of lesson planning. There were a lot of “going back to the drawing board” moments. It is hard to communicate how grateful I am to be working with such talented and dedicated colleagues, from the leadership of Jim Rest to the hard work of Carla Callini, the assistance of Paul Rossini, and the willingness to learn of Tommy Moriarty. Phone calls, video calls, sharing resources, testing resources... you name it. When someone needed help, there was always another teacher there to lend a hand or an ear—day or night.
Distance learning felt anything but typical at first, but things eventually settled into a rhythm. A couple hours of emails and grading, then chapel, then classes and extra help, then back to emails, grading, lesson planning, and brainstorming with colleagues. Though the experience inevitably felt different, the boys’ personalities were still able to shine through on Zoom. We tried to humanize the experience as much as possible and talk openly about the struggles and successes along the way. Anytime there was a shared “aha” moment, laugh, or thought-provoking question, it almost felt like we were back in the classroom.
I was inspired by how well the boys adjusted to the new demands of their altered learning experience. Though no one would have chosen to have their spring unfold as it did, I believe that overcoming this strange challenge has ultimately helped our boys become more adaptable, creative and resilient.
Luis Sosa Espinal ’25
When we heard we had to clean out our lockers before March break, a lot of seniors, including my brother, Kristian, told me not to worry because we’d be coming back in a pretty short time. I decided to bring all my supplies home that day anyway. Nobody really thought it would be a pandemic.
The first week after March break felt a bit like the first week of school all over again because the teachers had to explain to us how the grades would work. Getting online for classes was easier than I expected; I was actually very surprised at how well it went.
On a typical day, I would wake up around 8 am and watch Mr. Burke or the seniors give their speeches during Morning Chapel at 9 am. I was surprised to see Mr. Burke in the same clothes that he normally would wear and still in his bow tie. During the lunch period, I would try to get the hardest homework done and then finish my homework after classes were over so I could just relax.
The teachers did what they would do if they were in class, but it was harder to stay engaged sitting in front of a computer. We still had class discussions, did presentations, and had a lot of quizzes and tests. I emailed my teachers quite a lot during distance learning, since I couldn’t just talk to them in person.
Distance learning was definitely a new experience. The biggest thing I learned was the value of the time I had in school and in the classroom. I really missed the camaraderie and feeling of being together.
Tina Souza P’22
In a nutshell, St. Sebastian’s was not caught flat-footed. The switch to distance learning right after break felt incredibly seamless, like they didn’t miss a beat. It was truly exceptional. The faculty and staff seemed to go above and beyond over and over. My son, Tim, looks up to each and every one of his teachers and he kept saying how incredible they were to be able to move into this new platform and just keep moving forward while continuning to make it interesting. He was all set up in his room and when I’d walk by in the hallway, I would hear him laughing, but also having serious discussions. It was active learning, he wasn’t just sitting there passively listening.
With the consistent schedule, Tim knew what he needed to do and when he needed to do it—and it was very doable. There were four days of Zoom classes and that fifth day they had class meetings. He still did work on those days, but it was more of a relaxed day and gave him more time to connect with his teachers outside of class. Of course, Tim missed the dynamic of being with his friends and being in class, as well as the spring lacrosse season and robotics. Those are his things that he really loves. But he took it all in stride. He knew it wasn’t just him missing it; everyone had to miss it. There was just an overarching sense of support throughout the school that we were all in this together. In listening to Bill Burke each Monday morning, and his amazing combination of empathy and strength, you could feel the sense of community and that it was all going to be ok, despite the uncertainty. As president of the Guild, Cathy Daniel kept the parents engaged as much as possible in creative ways. She started weekly Zoom meetings and brought in relevant guest speakers to support parents.
I know as parents, my husband, Rob, and I felt Tim was thriving and even more so than we would have expected under the situation. It went just as smooth and as effective as anyone could have hoped for and I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.
MORNING CHAPEL
From the very first day of distance learning on March 30 to the last on May 29, there remained one constant that kept our community tied together: Morning Chapel. Every morning at 9 am, students and faculty tuned in, often joined by family members and alumni, to watch Morning Chapel streamed live on our website. Headmaster Burke gave his “Corporate Chapel” remarks on Mondays, summarizing Chapel Speeches given the previous week, and sharing his thoughts about what was happening in the world and our community, from the pandemic to racism. His remarks served as a guiding light, setting the tone for the week ahead. The other mornings of the week, 18 seniors and five juniors gave their Chapel Speeches from home, sharing a piece of themselves and providing a meaningful way to start the day.
NURTURING BODY, MIND & SPIRIT
During the challenging “stay-at-home” chapter this spring, St. Sebastian’s not only focused on making the distance learning experience the best it could be, but also sought ways to support the mental, emotional and physical health of our students and families. Dr. Dale Dillavou, the School’s consulting psychologist, and Health Director Jen Joyce RN offered guidance and support. Our athletic trainers created workouts and an Athletic Training Journal to help our students to stay physically active. The Guild of St. Irene organized a weekly speaker series, with parents tuning in to hear about relevant topics: Patty Burke, a practicing psychologist offered professional advice on “remaining centered and being positive during tough times”; Dr. Edward Ryan P’23, Director of Global Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, gave an intimate account of his experience on the frontline; and Marcie Behman P’13,’16,’19,’21, a financial services expert, gave an update on the state of the stock market. And Fr. John led us in prayer and offered words of comfort and faith during virtual Mass.
