I think make-up work is the bane of every teacher’s existence. No one I know likes the idea of kids missing class, and then having to relay information not just once, or twice, but multiple times to kids who are missing from class. Lately, with our good friend H1N1 making his presence known in our schools, make-up work and sick kids are on the rise. It seems that everyday for the past week or so when I have started class with my cheery “Hello everybody” the number of students replying “Hello Smith” is dwindling. And that makes me sad.
In order to combat this loss of personality in my classroom, and more importantly to keep my students abreast of what we are discussing, I showed the kids Skype the other day. We talked about how I used Skype extensively last year with my grad school classes at Pepperdine, and how they too can stay in contact with the class even though they are at home in bed sick.