LSO Editorial: Thank you.
The Lancer Spirit staff learns remotely from home during a staff Zoom video chat session.
With the recent switch over to remote learning due to COVID-19, students are adjusting to the habit of logging on to their computers and completing their daily assignments each day. With all that is going on it is easy to thank the students for their cooperation, but the real heroes are the people on the other side of that computer screen: the teachers and administrators.
The faculty at LHS were only given a brief warning before learning they would have to teach their students online.
Within no time though, the teachers and administrators each had figured out ways to ensure that students would still get the proper education they would’ve been receiving at school.
Administration has kept students, parents, and teachers in the loop with everything that is going on. Any update they have, they pass along immediately while also remaining calm. They provide all the answers they have while also acting as a support system for Lancer Nation. Their compassion and open communication has not gone unnoticed.
We’d especially like to thank our teachers who have been patient and composed. After months of working hard to create lesson plans for their students, teachers were challenged to remodel their assignments in order to comply with remote learning.
They have spent their careers becoming experts in their respective subject areas, and not all of them were necessarily trained to be technology experts.
But as normal life is adapting to the current national crisis, so are our teachers.
Regardless of what they went to school for, all teachers have risen to the occasion. They have open office hours on Zoom to help students who are struggling. They are always refreshing their emails to answer any questions or concerns, and they keep students up to date on their Google Classroom assignments.
They’ve done this all the while keeping their students in mind. We are entering a new grey area for everybody. Not only are the teachers new to this style of learning, but so are the students. And the teachers have come to understand that.
Instead of piling on unrealistic amounts of work, the teachers are giving students structured assignments that allow them to tackle their tasks one day at a time.
They have made sure that their students’ mental and physical health are a number one priority throughout this crisis.
And on top of everything going on, they are still being supportive.
In a time where it’s hard to stay optimistic, the teachers and administrators are reassuring their students that we are in this together and that we will get through this.
So to the faculty at LHS, don’t think we haven’t noticed all your hard work. We understand how hard it is to change the lesson plans that you have been working on for months, and we as students are here for you too.
On behalf of the student body, thank you for showing us what it truly means to be a Lancer.
Jenny Whitehead
Mar 30, 2020 at 9:55 am
This has got to speak volumes to not only the kind of staff you have at LHS but also the kind of students you have to take the time to say it. Wow!
Tom Ciccarello
Mar 29, 2020 at 9:18 pm
Thanks guys! It’s great to hear from you and that you appreciate us. We are concerned for you guys too. Hang in there and we will get through this together!
Mr. Chic.
Marjorie Lukas
Mar 29, 2020 at 3:39 pm
As a retired teacher who no longer has to worry about providing lessons for my students during this crisis, I can imagine how much work and thought are going into the lessons provided by your teachers. How wonderful of you to show them that you appreciate their efforts. I loved seeing this article and video and the video from the teachers. You have an amazing community of teachers and students who really care for each other. How lucky you all are.
Kelly Giguere
Mar 29, 2020 at 3:06 pm
LSO Editorial Board,
Thank you for this piece. I am one of those teachers who is not necessarily tech savvy, and I find myself spending hours learning more about online platforms I could/should use, watching endless tutorials, and trying to figure out why the Zoom breakout rooms I thought I set up didn’t work. Having a DVD clip on Shakespeare freeze on me in the classroom is one thing, but realizing the weight of what we are now trying to do by educating our students remotely presents entirely different challenges. The best part of my day is receiving an email from a student who is checking in or conferencing with others via Zoom and seeing those faces I so dearly miss. Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us and for reminding me to take a deep breath. I hope to never lose sight of the fact that I am blessed to be a part of the amazing community that is Lancer Nation.
Danielle Loschiavo
Mar 29, 2020 at 3:05 pm
Thank you so much, Lancer Spirit! You all rock!!! <3