Mike Scourby has been a member of PPTC since 2015. Born and raised in Park Slope, Mike is a masters runner who is catching up with the race times of his younger self. During the “pause”, Mike has continued running in Prospect Park, hitting the trails, running right after the rain, or finding other ways to avoid the crowds.

One of his students reached out to Mike with concern for Mike’s health, because he knew Mike was more vulnerable to the novel coronavirus as a more senior person in our running community:

Where do you teach and what grades/subjects do you teach?

I teach digital literacy at Origins HS.

What has it been like transitioning to remote teaching? Describe a typical day when you teach remotely.

I had a digital classroom up and running before the remote learning was initiated. I start a thread with my advisees each morning and take attendance. DOE [Department of Education] is telling teachers to take attendance for each class each day. Students are given a daily assignment, and they have longer projects to work on in digital literacy, such as slideshows and research.

How are your students handling remote learning? Has there been a drop in attendance?

Attendance is very low. I have 116 students in four sections, and maybe 25% are actually checking in and doing work. We have no idea what is going on in the homes of the students. Many do not have Internet access or computers. We made computers available to all students to use during remote learning, but not all of them went to the school to get one.

What has pleasantly surprised you about remote teaching?

The students that have been engaged are doing such fine work. It has been enjoyable communicating with them via email and the classroom.

What is your biggest complaint about remote teaching?

I think the expectations set by administrators is unrealistic.

What could parents do to make it easier for your to remotely teach their children?

Most of the students at Origins recently arrived in the U.S. There are 27 languages spoken at the school. Many of the parents do not speak English, and work in low pay service jobs. Seventy five percent of students live in poverty, and cannot assist their children in home remote learning. The school has reached out to parents via robocalls and email, but parental involvement is low even when school is running normally.

Do you anticipate changes to how you teach your students once you are back in the classroom based on your remote teaching experience?

One thing I will be doing is incorporating a daily activity for a daily class grade when we get back, and not just long term projects.

Have you been running? How has your running changed since we’ve been in “lockdown”?

I have been running almost every day, staying on the Prospect Park trails and meadows, keeping socially distant from others. I am not as motivated to do speed work or run long. Other than that, I have enjoyed my runs and they are keeping me focused.

Is there anything else you want to share about your “lockdown” experience?

I miss the students I teach, and my teacher peeps.

Interview and text by Linda S. Chan
Photo courtesy of: Mike Scourby
Edited and produced by: Alison Kotch

PPTC Teachers In The Time Of Coronavirus: Michael Scourby