By Elisa Carpenter, Music Teacher

“…its objectives are two-fold: to aid in the well-balanced social and artistic development of the child, and to produce a musically-literate adult; an adult who can read and write music as easily as words..”  - Zoltan Kodaly

An intriguing quote from Zoltan Kodaly, the founder of the Kodaly Teaching Method developed in Hungary.  Years ago he wanted to be involved in a music education system that was capable of leading children toward love of and knowledge about music, from the youngest of ages into their adult lives.

Many educators, whether in traditional or cyber school, strive to replicate this idea each and every day, in their own course, in new ways, and with fascinating tools so their students are well prepared and successful!

by Ms. Hannah Lewis, Secondary English Teacher

Photo courtesy of @bamagal on Unsplash

This generation of students are more literate than past generations. They engage with writing daily, sometimes hourly, on their smart devices and computers, usually communicating with one another. Yet, they are plagued by record-breaking amounts of depression and anxiety.

In spite of their constant connectedness, they feel lonely.

In this world of hyper-literate, connected-yet-isolated students, being a literacy teacher presents new opportunities and challenges, some of which are exacerbated where I teach, at a cyber school in Pittsburgh, PA.

By: Peter Mysels, Secondary Social Studies Teacher

One of the mental hurdles many cyber school teachers need to overcome upon entering the field of cyber school teaching is removing the preconceived notion of…

“Will I be able use the same, projects, assignments, and methods I did in my traditional school, now that I am a cyber teacher?”

I'd like to challenge you: rather than, “Will I be able to?” I encourage you to consider, “How will I?” 

How Coding Inspired Me and Enabled my Cyber School Students to Success!

By Katie Devlin, 7-12 Social Studies Teacher

As a social studies teacher in cyber school, something that I strive to do is find ways to encourage my students to think critically. Yes, I teach 7th grade geography, but it’s so much more than that.  As a teacher in my department, I am challenged to create interactive thinkers who can work together, talk through problems, and who want to learn and grow.  In cyber school, that means thinking outside the box.

Christine Trudeau, Secondary English

Student interest and engagement remains one of the most difficult tasks for any teacher.  Although teachers in the brick and mortar classroom experience this challenge, they possess the ability to address apathy or inattention with physical proximity and redirection, whereas, the cyber teacher cannot “see” their students’ behavior. 

Though a cyber school teacher can provide verbal redirection like a brick and mortar teacher, he or she cannot ascertain, to the same extent, if the student has reengaged in the lesson.  So what’s the solution? 

by Miss Marisa Petraglia, Social Studies

Believe it or not, getting high school students excited to learn history is not always a walk in the park.  (You mean to tell me you’re NOT pumped to dive into the intricate causes and effects of WWI?!)  Add to that the obstacle of not having students physically in your presence in a cyber school setting and you need to do some fancy footwork to make sure students are staying engaged with their lessons. Through trial and error (AKA: a teacher's best friend) I have found some methods that promote student engagement in my classroom.