What I've Learned from Teaching Online

I've been teaching online for four months now. Minus the blips in technology, it's been rather effective when students have set up the camera correctly as I've requested. Teaching core subjects such as English math, science, or history, are a little different than learning an instrument, but the general techniques still apply. These are just some of my general observations/takeaways so far from what I've experienced and learned.

1. Specific Instructions

The instructions I give have to be a lot more specific than if I were teaching in person. When my students come to my studio, usually, I'll say something along the lines of, "Look at the top of the page here" while I proceed to use my finger and point to the top of the page. The student can merely follow my finger and know where I am and what I'm referring to. For all I know, they haven't even actively listened to me say, "Look at the top of the page here." It's one of the advantages of teaching one-on-one. 

When teaching online, the directions have to be more specific. "Look at the top of page 2, line 3, measure 4 with the note G." Which leads me to my next point.

2. Active Listening

As a continuation of number 1, students need to actively listen to my instructions in order to follow along in my lesson. Let's take the same example: 

Look at the top of page 2, line 3, measure 4 with the note G.

Students then need to find the top of page 2, understand what a line is referring to, go to the third line, understand what a measure is, go to the fourth measure, know how to read notes, and find the note G. I am constantly surprised as how difficult it is for students to follow this, not necessarily because they don't understand the terminology, but because they're simply not listening.

I've seen students who appear to be listening, only to ask me to repeat myself because they've gotten lost staring at the page instead of listening to what I'm actually saying or asking. 

3. Colors

Colors have always been a part of my teaching. I color code dynamics. I color code notes. I color code patterns. I color code anything I want to bring special attention to, and sometimes I have even drawn a key for my colors so the student knows what each one is referring to. 

When music is printed with black and white notes on a black and white staff, notes written in pencil often get lost to beginner learners or learners who don't pay close attention. My teacher used the entire rainbow in my music to write notes and comment (including a blue glitter crayon at one point!), and I've followed suit because it is a method that I know works to a certain extent. I know you can't overload the page, but you need something to catch the eye, because everything gets lost in a sea of black and white otherwise.

In addition to color coding the music, I've learned that when pointing out things over a digital screen, my pointer needs to be obvious. Hence, I've started to paint my nails again. I've gotten good use lately out of my bold red and pink polishes. A painted nail makes a great pointer on the screen. Unfortunately, for all my male colleagues and teachers in various fields, this one may not work for you....unless you're willing to go above and beyond in strange ways!

4. Taking Notes

Having virtual lessons has brought out the sad reality that the state of our learning is passive. Students are not taught to take their learning into their own hands or to do more for themselves about their learning. Part of it may be my mistake. I've always written down notes in their music for them with regards to their homework and assignments. In retrospect, it may be more worthwhile to have the students do it themselves. I've simply always done it as a way of efficiency. Asking them to write their own assignments in our short 30 minute lessons may take up to five minutes or more. That's a lot of time to be spent writing things down when I can do it in seconds and use the extra time to teach. 

Sometimes, I ask them to repeat their assignments back to me verbally so I can register if it went into their head. Of course, if it escapes again, that is not within my control. This may be a system I'll have to improve on in the future and continue to work through. 

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In summary, I don't mind teaching online really. The students who thrived during in-person lessons have thrived during online ones. The students who have struggled in person are still struggling online. I don't think either success or struggle is due solely to virtual reasons. I agree there are still shortfalls. But if parents are wondering why online learning has been difficult, I'd take a look at some of these factors and see if there are any skills they can specifically help their students with, unrelated to the material itself.

Momma's Boy

 When I found out I was pregnant the second time around, I was actually hoping for a girl. The practical and efficient side of me thought: How great would it be if I could reuse all of the old clothes again and not need to buy anything new!

Their due dates were 5 days apart, although my first was 6 days late, so due date for #2 was actually the day before #1's birthday. My morning sickness was just as bad if not worse than the first time. The seasons of my pregnancies were going to be identical so no need for new maternity clothes. How perfect was this? 

Well, as all things go, you can only plan so much. I ended up buying some maternity clothes anyway because I didn't buy a single maternity shirt the first time and stretched out a few of my regular shirts...sad day. Unfortunately, I can't wear those now anymore without looking a little too boxy. And, of course, we were having a boy instead of another girl.

I wasn't disappointed when I found out. Surprised, maybe, cause with all the pukey feelings and food aversions, I really thought it'd be another girl. But we were having a little boy. It actually brought a new excitement to this pregnancy. If I really didn't need to buy new clothes for this baby, we would have essentially spent $0 on baby things (not counting diapers) for our second. Not a bad thing to save money, but it takes the fun out of it. 

So last Thanksgiving and Christmas, I got to do some online shopping to purchase clothes and stock up on the basics. A few months later, we said hello to our little boy and bunkered down for a few months as the epidemic began. It's a good thing this wasn't our first baby. We did a lot of last-minute shopping for baby things with our first, so we had more than enough this time. 

I'll never know if it was because he was a boy, or he was our second child, or simply his temperament is much easier, but he's been an absolute dream from the beginning: started sleeping through the night around 2 months old, eats on a fairly predictable schedule, falls asleep on his own without needing to be rocked or held, and doesn't have a spit up problem. We'd been trained by one of the neediest babies ever, so it seemed, so when I experienced the feeling of laying a baby down in a crib, walking away, and finding him asleep 5 minutes later, it was like a miracle had happened right before my eyes!

But that's not even my favorite part.

Sometime between 2-3 months old, he started to do a happy squirm wiggle giggle whenever he'd see me after a prolonged period of time. This would happen if I went in to get him after he woke up from sleeping or if I walked away for a little bit and came back and looked at him. I don't ever remember my daughter doing this, and it is absolutely the cutest thing ever. 

My daughter is still the needier child, but she will always be special to me for some very personal reasons, and I'm thankful to have a daughter. But I'm also thankful to have a little boy whose face lights up in delight when he sees me. 

This is not how his face lights up when he sees me...but
this is one of the very few pictures we have together.

Plastic Bags

For the first time since I can remember, we're running low on plastic bags in our house. We've always had quite a collection from grocery runs and I've had to go from tying them into a knot to folding them neatly like little football triangles so we can fit them all in our pantry. (Who else out there knows what I'm talking about?)

First, let me explain why we don't use reusable shopping bags at the grocery store. I've never made a priority to bring my own bags because we actually use the plastic bags stores give you to bag groceries for other uses. All of our trash bags in the bathrooms and kitchen are lined with grocery store plastic bags. We do not purchase specific plastic bags for the trash* cans. Why buy something and use it once when you can get something and give it at least two uses in its lifetime? Even if grocery stores started charging a nickel or a dime for each bag, I might still pay occasionally for the bags because I know I get other uses out of them. 

*We buy one pack of the tall trash bags for our 13 gallon trash can and it lasts us at least four years because we only use that trash can for large objects or when we throw parties or large gatherings. In fact, we purchase plastic trash bags so infrequently that when Walmart changed their packaging from 50 bags to 45 bags, I actually noticed. Consumers beware: inflation doesn't solely come in higher prices. They get sneaky and keep the price the same and drop the quantity. Trash bag quantities are not the only item I've noticed had this happen.

I asked my husband one day why plastic shopping bags at the grocery stores were seen as such a "problem" when the plastic trash bags you can purchase and use at the grocery store are not. We came to the conclusion that the majority of people do not reuse plastic grocery bags. Our guess is they end up being littered or thrown away after arriving home without any second thought. 

I actually prefer the smaller 4 gallon wastebaskets for trash and t-shirt bags from grocery stores or takeout fit perfectly in them. We fill it up about once every 2 days, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, depending on what I'm cooking. If we used a large 13 gallon trash can in our kitchen, I think it would smell sooner than it would fill. This makes a huge difference any time I'm cooking fresh meat or shrimp. You want to bag the packaging up and take it out ASAP.

I try to use any (clean) plastic bag which enters into our home at least twice if possible. In some cases, you really can't, although my toddler really likes to play with the bubble wrap plastic packaging from some packages for a few days, so I count that as a second life. Some companies even ship their products in plastic bags with a second sticky seal on it in case you need to use it as a return package or use it for something else altogether. I have definitely found second uses for these types of plastic bags.

An example of a reused bag with a second sticky seal which I used.
Anyone want to take a guess what's in this bag?
Hint: It's not a package to be sent out and it's not something I'm keeping.

Bags that can't find second uses in our home (any bag that has ventilation holes in it, any bag that's torn or ripped, or any bag that is an usual shape and can't be reused, etc) will end up in a recycling pile to be taken back to a store to be recycled.

I'm all for using resources wisely and reusing/recycling instead of trashing. If you don't believe me, ask me what we do with the cold water from our bathroom while we wait for the shower to heat up. We also reuse our old laundry detergent containers as well as cooking wine bottles just to name a few. If there's a way to reuse something, I've probably done it or have thought about it. 

So, for now, we're running low on our plastic bags. It might mean we need to go on another grocery store run (that isn't Costco), or, it might mean we need to pull out the big trash can for a while. 

Happy Six Years!

Today is our six-year anniversary. In these six years of marriage, we’ve broken six glasses, five bowls, and one cutting board. I wish I could blame it on the kids, but they’ve actually had no part in our broken kitchenware. Yet. There will be plenty of time for that. 

Our wedding day. Taken by Victoria Liu

It’s been a fun six years. Things haven’t always been rainbows and butterflies, and we’ve had our fair share of disagreements and conflicts, but we have a lot of fun. These are six ways we've been able to enjoy each other's company and continue to have fun with each other. 

1. Be goofy together. 

We have lots of inside jokes together such as flying juice boxes, "cheers" popsicles, and pregnant belly dance moves. These are what make the classic stories to pass down to generations to come.

2. Don't fight over chores. 

It's really silly to fight over something that takes 5-10 minutes to do. We don't do 50/50 in our house. I have both cooked and washed the dishes on many occasions. My husband has also cooked and cleaned, mostly during the months when I had morning sickness, which has now happened twice. Fighting about not wanting to do it would probably cost us up to an hour or more. Not fighting about it and just doing it would probably save us 30-45 minutes at least.

3. Go on adventures.

Adventures don't have to be glamorous trips involving flying across the world to visit exotic places.  We've had many adventures consisting of driving to Walmart and browsing the clearance section for 30 minutes. Unfortunately with the current health concerns, we may never view these adventures the same or be able to do them, but we thoroughly enjoyed them, especially during our pre-kids years. Hopefully someday, the art of shopping in stores can become a leisurely past time again instead of a necessity for food. 

4. Eat good food.

Whether it be going out for takeout or cooking at home, good food can't be beat. It's so satisfying to be able to enjoy a good meal together. 

5. Look at each other. Really. 

Take some time every now and then to look at each other. We see each other all the time, but how often are you intentionally looking at each other? 

6. Hold hands

We don't get to hold hands much anymore. Between pushing strollers, holding children, and carrying bags, there are no free hands left to hold unless they belong to tiny people. When we actually do get to hold hands now, it possesses a newness to it that's almost strange. It doesn't happen often. If you're not someone who likes to hold hands, then...don't, I guess.

I've really enjoyed this extra time during quarantine/staying at home that we've had with each other. Most of the time it just involves doing more of the everyday things together: cooking, cleaning, watching the kids, eating meals, etc.

And now, I'll leave you with six more fun facts about us/our relationship.

1. When J was younger, he wishfully wanted to marry someone who had a grand piano. This indeed came true!

2. J says I was somehow able to traverse the friend zone. I hope he's glad I did. 

3. I grew up with a last name of 3 letters. It got shorter after we got married.

4.  J liked penguins. I liked teddy bears. Now we both like penguins.

5.  I thought I'd leave Dallas after college, and I did for a year. But, I found a reason to come back and stay. 

6.  We both joke that we definitely wouldn't have dated each other if we had met earlier or grew up together.

Happy Anniversary to my favorite person.❤️

Two babies and many extra pounds later, we still fit our wedding attire!