Week 2: Terrorism in the Classroom - Hijacked Google Meet

This week made me feel like a rookie teacher. I am in my twenty-third year of teaching. I am teaching a class that I have taught for my twelve years. It is the class I used for my doctoral research. I know the material reasonably well. I am comfortable leading in-class discussions with vibrancy and passion about a field that is dynamic. Psychology is a subject I feel that all high school students would benefit from. We tackle issues such as how our biology influences our behavior, how biology affects our personal perceptions and beliefs, how we learn complicated (and not so complicated) subjects, and what study methods show the best results just to name a few useful topics. These are things I focused on in the before times. Now things are different.

Blended Learning. Last year I flipped my classroom and instituted a blended learning approach. This combines the best attributes of online instruction with in-class collaboration. Students get low-level activities, such as note-taking and basic information through video lectures at home, so we don't have to do it at school. The students come to school with notes finished so we can use the information derived from the video lecture. It is a basic research vs. applied research approach. You get the basics at home and apply what you learned in class. It "flips" the traditional classroom approach by inverting the process; notes at home, "homework" in class so that we can assure we are all getting it right. This is a wonderful approach because students get to work together-they have permission to work together; not to "share work" but to actually help each other when properly modeled and developed. After all, psychology teaches that we learn from and with each other.

Challenges. The problem this year, of course, is that I have a classful of students while simultaneously streaming online learners. This presents a new challenge because I have to start a Google Meet every class period, take attendance for four separate sections (in-person A, online C, in-person B, online D), ensure that HIPPA violations are prevented by not displaying names on screens or faces of in-class students, and a host of other issues, such as a six-feet of distance requirement for my in-class students. Oh, and disinfecting desks every period. And going to the restroom. And returning emails. And the list goes on. 

Rookie Mistake. In the first two to three weeks of school it is not so unusual to have students added and dropped to classes. This year has been particularly fluid as students see what online and face-to-face learning is going to look like. My class lists were constantly changing, and here is where I made an awful mistake. I let two individuals into a Google Meet that didn't belong. I didn't recognize their names, but thought, well, they must have been added later. I accepted their entry into the Meet without a second thought and told them next time to use their school email address. 

The Terrorists Attack. Here's where the wheels came off. It did not take long for the class with me, to realize that something was amiss. We heard someone's mouth in the microphone making swallowing or chewing sounds. I came to my computer to turn down the volume when I was told by the mystery student that I looked nice. I believe the actual comment was, "you look good today". I shrugged this off, kind of laughed and moved on. Next was something totally inappropriate, a reference to female genitalia. I was APPALLED, SHOCKED, HORRIFIED, and PANICKING! In my head, "what do I do, what do I do?". I quickly shut down the meeting, forgetting the fact that even when I shut the meeting down the attendees are still in it. I had to sign back on the Meet and tell my students to leave and I would start another one. 

Panic by the Teacher. I was completely unnerved. This was a rookie move! I was totally out-smarted by these students that didn't belong! I was so apologetic to the students present. I had eleven students, eight boys and three girls. They were so respectful and kind to me after my blunder that I was proud of how maturely they took it. The mishap took me off my game for the rest of the period, and unfortunately, that class did not get my best. 

Things I Learned. There are several takeaways from this experience. First and foremost was, if the students can't get into the Meet, there is probably a reason. Second, things are never going to be ideal when we have the challenges of streaming lectures combined with in-class attendance. Students can't safely collaborate in-class, and those at home are sitting in their bathtub while eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for all I know. Third, no amount of experience could have prepared me for reacting to the terrorist Google Meet hijackers. Yeah, I did a bone-headed thing by letting them in. This was directly on my shoulders. In my defense, class lists?

Teacher Error is Inevitable. To summarize, having some humility is saving me from torturing myself over a dumb move. I will make more mistakes. I have to be teachable and acknowledge these moments for what they are, grow from them, and learn the lessons that no one could have prepared any teacher for twenty-three years ago. I am proud of my students for acting kindly towards me and grateful I have created a classroom climate that accepts teacher error. Perhaps my reaction showed students that failure is a learning opportunity.