By Anjuli Niyogi, Editor-in-Chief

Zoom meetings, held on one of the world’s most popular video conferencing platforms, have become the new norm for thousands of schools across the country, including Mills High School. As it is still a completely new classroom setting for teachers and students alike, however, confusion about Zoom expectations has risen since the beginning of the school year.

Cameras On/Off

At the beginning of the school year, many students were nervous about the setting of their home classroom, not knowing teachers, and especially for incoming freshmen and new students, not knowing anyone in their Zoom calls. Because of this, the year started with many students being unsure of whether or not to turn their cameras on or being less inclined to. Most teachers are now requiring their students to turn their functioning cameras on at all times unless requested not to. Pre-Calculus and Algebra 1 teacher Nils Headley described that he “understands that when students don’t know each other and teachers well, this feels like a big ask for teachers.” While it is true that most teachers understand the uncertainty of turning cameras on, after the first few weeks it was expected to be done as a way to be held accountable during class.

He understands that when you’re a teenager, it may seem like everyone is looking at you, but turning on your camera is also about one’s confidence and rising above the awkwardness to show you are engaged and want to learn. Dean of Students, Timothy Christian recounted that while in a normal classroom environment it’s easy for “a kid to sit back in class with a hoodie on and dip out” but with Zoom calls, “you are forced to look at yourself and be reminded of how difficult school is.” He expressed that while Mills administration and teachers are not making it a mandate, being a part of the school community means “we want to be able to see you”. Cristina Tutaj, a Mills Economics and U.S. History teacher, has found a balanced solution to these concerns and asks her students to turn their cameras on at the beginning and end of class. She recounted that “it can be draining to be on camera for long periods” and she believes that “teachers should be able to set expectations for their classes about ‘camera on’ requirements, but should listen to student feedback about the experience of being ‘on’ over the course of possibly seven classes a day.”

Legitimate Excuses

With regards to broken mics, malfunctioning cameras, and wifi-issues, many students who find these to be concerns at home are reporting these valid issues to their teachers. Some accounts of students, however, are taking advantage of these idiosyncrasies as an opportunity to disengage from class and take the day off.

Dean Christian expressed that while there are always going to be some students who use distance learning “as an out” and “kids getting away with something,” ultimately, it is on them to show up to class and be ready to learn.

Mr. Headley commented that on the other hand, he wants “to start from a position of trusting the student,” and assume that their “broken camera” or wifi-issues are legitimate. Similarly, Ms. Tutaj hopes that “over the time we can all develop a positive relationship” and have students in a comfortable enough environment to continually participate.

Dress Code

New concerns were also brought upon around the dress code of Zoom classes, gathering that in the first week of school, a few students were unprepared for classes or trying to be inflammatory towards teachers and turned their cameras on without shirts or in bathrobes. While it is a tricky situation because students are technically in their own homes, Mr. Headley reiterated that “I’m not going to police shoes, hoodies, etc. in a student’s home. Does the shirt a student is wearing say something offensive? Then it becomes an issue. Want to wear a silly hat? Great.”
Ultimately, the dress code that we have at school stands; wear something that makes you comfortable in your learning environment, but not at the expense of offending others.

Breakout Room Etiquette

Other issues have arisen around breakout room expectations in particular on Zoom. In many instances, multiple breakout rooms are created by teachers for students to work on group assignments and a teacher simply cannot be in multiple breakout rooms at once. This has led to a common result of disengaged students who do not turn on their cameras, stay muted, and may fall behind some of their other classmates who choose to stay engaged in their breakout rooms. Teachers have coped with this issue and are continuing to work with students to improve communication in breakout rooms with more facilitation, instruction, and mandatory collaboration. Dean Christian noted that “teachers are getting better at breakout rooms” since the first couple weeks of school and that like most challenges with distance learning, there will be a period of trial and error until teachers find what works best.

Keep [students in breakout rooms] for only short periods, and have a task to work on that is due after the breakout room time, or else it can be hard to keep everyone focused on learning.”

– Cristina Tutaj, Economics and US History Teacher

Ultimately, many of these issues involve learning curves for teachers and figuring out how to best support student learning. Dean Christian mentioned that “teachers are having to command everyone’s attention for long periods and were not forced to do that before” distance learning began.

A perfect example of this, as Dean Christian described, was during a class visit to one of Kathleen Louie’s US Government classes, when Dean Christian was able to talk to different students in breakout rooms, discuss what they had been working on, and check up on their thoughts of distance learning. Dean Christian imagines that ultimately, this shift is extremely hard for younger students who have a weaker connection to their school community, are less experienced with managing schoolwork, and do not have a solid idea of what their goals are with regards to their high school careers. He noted that “freshmen are having a harder time finding a way” and that it is going to take more time to develop these good relationships, successful habits, and positive connections to Mills.