‘There are thousands of Mrs. Talberts’ – Hear from a parent, first-grader, and teacher experiencing distance learning for the first time.
By Alli Lindenberg - Posted Mar 31, 2020
Nina Anderson is a first-grader in Charlotte. Due to recent school closures, Nina’s classroom looks very different than it did a few weeks ago. She and millions of other North Carolina students are learning from home. I interviewed Nina, her mom, and her teacher to learn more about what learning looks like right now.
Kitchen table math class
For Nina’s mom, Johanna Anderson, her teacher could not have virtually stepped in at a better moment. Johanna had been trying to teach Nina “magic square,” a math equation in a grid format.
“We were both getting a little frustrated,” Johanna said.
It was then that Johanna received a text from Kathleen Talbert, Nina’s teacher at Beverly Woods Elementary School, who asked if now would be a good time to talk to Nina. Relieved and excited, Johanna set up Nina’s first Zoom call with her teacher.
First graders learn Zoom
Nina has adjusted to using Zoom pretty seamlessly. According to her mom, it only took her a few minutes to grasp all of the platform’s necessary functions.
“It just makes me laugh to think of how many adults are trying to figure out Zoom right now and they [kids] didn’t even get any instruction. We literally plopped the laptop in front of them. And they were using Zoom to all of its capabilities within a couple of minutes,” Johanna said.