February Featured Teachers Leverage Morale Boosters

Looking for teacher morale boosters and ways to reduce burnout? Proximity Learning virtual educators are energized by a supportive environment, interactive students, and helpful teacher resources. Read on to hear more about their experiences with their online teaching jobs. 

JoAnn Bowen

Certified virtual educator JoAnn Bowen enjoys getting to know her students via livestream. She reports that the greatest morale booster comes from recognition from her students. They share that she’s their favorite teacher and that they wish she could visit them in person. She knows she is building meaningful relationships because the students tell her how much she is valued. 

Ms. Bowen uses interactive virtual tools in her lessons. She says, “I use gaming platforms to review concepts, fun, interesting videos to grab their attention, and I torture them with goofy songs so they can remember concepts. I try to make the content relatable to help them understand better.”

Ms. Bowen likes her online teaching job because of the support and recognition she receives from the Connected Community at Proximity Learning. 

Pei-Hua Lin

Online Chinese teacher Pei-Hua Lin “saw students genuinely love to learn,” in her classes. They got to know each other throughout the year and bonded during class. She continues, “Although we had classes online, I feel that we are close to each other.” 

Ms. Lin uses many online resources to engage her students and personalize activities to their learning styles. She assigns online journals, group discussions, and educational games to help them apply their Chinese writing skills.  

Stephanie Ney

Stephanie Ney teaches elementary special education online with Proximity Learning. She says accepting her online teacher job, “has been the best decision I’ve ever made.” She continues, “I couldn’t have been more excited to join a place that is so student-driven.” 

Over the past four years, she has taught special education for all grades and all subjects. It has been a rewarding experience beyond career growth. “I have met such incredible students and parents and have made friendships with teachers that I’ve worked with here.” 

Ms. Ney has had incredible experiences with all of her students, including one non-verbal student who made tremendous progress with communication this year. Her consistent presence every day, all year establishes and maintains trusting relationships with her students, which enables them to learn in a comfortable, welcoming environment. 

Judith Kriz

Virtual special education teacher Judith Kris loves working with her students online. “My students are so eager to come into class and get started.” She partners with her teaching assistant to maintain the classroom and meet the needs of each individual student. For example, Ms. Kriz utilizes the chat to encourage introverted students to respond to questions in a way that suits their learning style. 

Ms. Kriz feels supported by the Connected Community at Proximity Learning. She always gets answers to her questions without feeling embarrassed. She says, “It makes me feel much better and much safer in the classroom. I am glad I came here, and I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else.” 

When teachers join the Proximity Learning team they can expect to join a community of educators that are deeply passionate about quality virtual education that caters to student achievement. Our curriculum is inclusive, adaptable, and interactive. Over the past 14 years, we’ve built a team of educators that are working collectively to foster equitable education opportunities for students no matter where they live or how they learn. Want to join our Connected Community? Learn more about our online teaching jobs here.