It wasn’t easy. In many homes, families shared one device. Some families didn’t have access to a computer or the internet at all. Whether students were video chatting or writing in paper packets, everyone could agree that school wasn’t the same.
“I miss that I can’t actually talk to my friends and be there with them,” said Kameryn Diaz, a fourth-grader from New York City.
But students found ways to make remote learning work for them. They chatted with friends at the start of online class meetings. They followed daily schedules and found special spaces to do schoolwork.
Teachers worked hard to make their remote classrooms feel like school. Chauntae Brown, a second-grade teacher at P.S. 80 in New York City, used supplies from her garage to create a colorful video chat background.
“It’s important to have a bit of fun in times like this,” she says.
After just a few weeks, students discovered how resilient they could be. They had successfully become remote learners!
“My students had no remote learning experience,” Brown said. “I’m proud of their eagerness to learn by any means necessary.”