Ontario elementary school teacher on the highs and lows of virtual learning

For elementary school teacher Michelle Davis, the most challenging part of teaching children online isn't the hours of preparation or the new computer programs — it's being a voice of calm for her students.

"It has rattled my cage, for sure," she told Day 6. "I'm certainly having a lot of trouble sleeping and shutting my brain off."

Davis has been teaching for 25 years. She's currently a Grade 1 teacher at Templemead Elementary Public School in Hamilton, Ont. — and for the second time during the pandemic, she's teaching online.

In January, schools in Ontario moved to online learning in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19. Schools in the northern part of the province reopened on Jan. 11, and several more regions will reopen classrooms starting Monday, Feb. 1. Schools in four regions with high numbers of COVID-19 cases, including Toronto and Hamilton, will remain virtual until at least Feb. 10.

"At first with this online learning, physically, I felt very strange sitting in a chair all day," she said. "Teaching Grade 1, I'm usually on my feet all day."

The switch back to online learning has taken a toll on her students too.

"Meltdowns were high at one point, but I find that if I keep my demeanour and keep myself calm, and then they too are calm and focused," she said. 

I think I'm going to remember this group very fondly and thinking of how resilient they are.- Michelle Davis, Grade 1 teacher

Movement breaks

Though most of the work they do is online, Davis is constantly giving her students breaks away from the computer. She encourages them to dance, stretch and even go on scavenger hunts.

"For example, [I say] go find something that has a nose [or] go find something that's orange," she said. "It's just a movement break, and they love it."

One of her favourite scavenger hunts involved finding something that was living. Davis says her students brought everything from pets and plants to their parents and grandparents.

"It was really great, and everybody was giggling and just enjoying it — even the participants that were dragged onto the screen," she said.

Davis isn't too concerned about the future just yet — she says she could live with this system for months if need be.

For now, her main focus is the same as it was at the beginning of the school year; helping her students get through this experience one day at a time. 

"They have been frustrated, angry with a lot of things, but they've really come a long way," she said. "I think I'm going to remember this group very fondly and thinking of how resilient they are."

Written by Mouhamad Rachini. Produced by Pedro Sanchez.