The Lantern _ Spring/Summer 2020

GOES VIRTUAL

LANDMARK’S DAILY ONE-TO-ONE V I R T U A L TUTORIAL

By Hazel Crowley In early March, I (like so many in our community) was thriving with a routine. Every day, I would arrive at school early, sit down at my favorite computer, and begin organizing the day’s lesson plans. I would greet Deidre Mulligan as she fed Buddy and Bridges, the EMS campus turtles.

I would print documents on the machine Dean of Students Kirk Swanson had warmed up on his morning rounds. I would walk to class, judging my punctuality by exactly what stair I passed certain students and colleagues on, each of them following their own streamlined morning rituals.

Then, school closed and everything changed. I frequently forgot what day it was. I “ghosted” my students, sometimes leaving our virtual classroom by accident. One evening I looked at the clock and realized, with horror, that I’d been watching YouTube videos on “how to make remote learning fun” for over two hours. It was well past midnight.

I share my experience because I know I am not alone. At first, the shutdown made us all feel truly out of sync. “It was daunting,” admits teacher Maureen Flannery, referring to the immense task of translating certain Landmark essentials (cursive practice, card sorts, spelling worksheets, library books, and so much more) entirely from page to screen.

Not only were we lost, we also felt loss. “Community and in-person experiences are so important to our students, in order for them to feel confident in their skills and connected to their teachers and their learning.

Obviously that cannot be replaced virtually,” explains teacher Starry Joseph.

But despite initial turbulence, tutorial sailed on. “Although we’re no longer sitting side by side, thanks to some excellent technology, we’re able to do pretty much everything we did before,” says teacher Anna DiPerna, who was able to incorporate fun review games and teach new skills in tutorial this spring. “The more independent nature of the work actually gave me better insight into which skills needed more focus.”

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The Lantern

SPRING/SUMMER 2020