With the recent restrictions put in place by the Anne Arundel County Public School District, schools like Severna Park High School (SPHS) now have to redirect their attention to their online programs. 

New teachers at SPHS not only have to adjust to a new school, but also to a completely new learning environment in their homes. With all of these changes come challenges these teachers now have to face. 

“Sometimes, the technology limits what and how I teach,” first time math teacher Seul Gi Jang said. 

Within these limits, teachers still have to keep their students attentive during their 45 minutes class periods. This can be difficult because teachers are unable to see and interact with their students in person. Not only does this restrict their ability to see everything going on in their classrooms, but it also restricts their ability to connect and get to know their students. 

“There are still many students I teach who don’t turn their camera on and don’t interact/participate that much,” science teacher Steve Gorrick said. “When they don’t interact/participate, it makes it really difficult to connect and get to know who they are.” 

Not only is it difficult to interact and connect with students, it’s also difficult to lead more productive classes due to the possibility of lag or other technology issues. With these possibilities, classes may run behind or slower than usual.

“We can’t hear each other when we sing because of the lag so everyone learns their part one on one by me singing it to them and them reading their music,” music teacher Michael Brisentine said.

Even with all these difficulties in navigating the new teaching environment, the teachers still have had some enjoyable experiences.

“I had a student screenshot my face and somehow superimpose it onto their ‘camera off’ screen, so that was fun,” Brisentine said.