JA teachers turn to YouTube for lessons
Jackson Academy families at the lower school haven't been binge-watching Netflix over the last two months despite getting in a lot of screen time. They have been hungrily consuming videos made by the teachers and faculty.
Taylor Beard of Madison is a kindergarten teacher at the school. She also has three girls at the school, Betsy Beard who is in third grade; first-grader Mary Phillips Beard and K3 student Lucy Beard. Beard said her daughters have been enjoying regular science project posts from STEM instructor Cliff Powers.
"We watch these video all the time," Beard said "I really would not be surprised if my daughters are studying science because of Mr. Powers as they continue their education. He brings so much enthusiasm and everyone loves him. It may be a video for Betsy's class but all three of my girls will be on the couch watching it."
Geri Beth Smith is the mother of Peyton Smith, a fourth-grader. The family lives in Ridgeland. She said the videos are easy to follow, can largely be done in the kitchen and can be done by her son almost entirely by himself.
"It is the first thing he wants to do," Smith said.
Peyton said that he has found the videos a "very interesting" way to learn from home.
"They help me a lot," he said. "I miss Mr. Powers. I miss him a lot but this helps make up for what we are missing. I know things will be ok."
Powers said that his philosophy for 25 years has been that there is no reason learning should not be fun.
"STEM is so collaborative and hands-on so I wanted to find a way to give the students something to do," Powers said. "I get so much energy from being in front of a classroom and this is a way to kind of tap into that."
Pre-school Librarian Ali Dinkins has been reading children's classics that many students are likely to have at home. Selections have included Runaway Bunny, The Emperor's New Clothes and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
"I hope I am creating a connection point to these books," Dinkins said. "My goal is to make the page come alive. It is important that these children get as much fiction as they can."
She said that she has always tried to find interesting ways to connect children to the stories and the videos are a way to do that from afar.
"I am always trying to use something to engage them with games or crafts or a costume or gymnastics or something," Dinkins said.
She echoes Powers in that she misses the face-to-face interaction with the children.
"I miss seeing their faces when it registers with them and a story comes together," Dinkins said. "For four and five-year-olds they have heard so few stories and don't know how to anticipate yet so every story is so shocking and surprising and that is fun to watch."
Smith said that she has been thankful that her child's teachers have found a way to reach their students even in a difficult time.
"I know it has been a way for my child to continue to feel connected," Smith said.
Dinkins' storytime videos can be found at her youtube page, Ali Dinkins, and Power's follow-along science experiments are posted to his page, Mr. Powers' STEM Show.