Live Instruction Teachers Make A Difference Through Distance Learning
The teacher shortage affects every state in the country. When a school cannot secure enough certified teachers to fill all its classes, students will be left without qualified instructors. To solve this issue, Ms. Rebulla and Ms. Hudak work with Proximity Learning to livestream their lessons into the classroom, so students can still receive a high-quality education and live interaction with a virtual certified teacher.
Jacelyn Rebulla
Ms. Rebulla taught elementary education for seven years before joining Proximity Learning to teach live online classes. This year, she is teaching 1st grade English Language Arts (ELA), Math, Social Studies, Science, and Core Extension.
Ms. Rebulla made the change to accommodate her family. She is originally from Minnesota but now teaches students in Virginia while temporarily living in Guatemala. When she looked for home-based online teaching jobs to continue her career, she found Proximity. Proximity Learning allowed her the flexibility to continue teaching during this time of transition and travel.
One of the ways that Ms. Rebulla connects with her virtual students is by hosting Lunch Bunch.“I pick five students a week to eat lunch with me for about 20 minutes,” she explains. “I actually got this idea from a student who told me his teacher did it last year. I'm taking 5 students at a time once a week, but I’m thinking I will allow whoever wants to join after I get through all the kids. During this time, I was able to meet some of my student’s family members, and they told me some jokes. I was just able to spend more time with them and learn more about their interests than I can in a large group.”
Crystal Demsky Hudak
Ms. Demsky Hudak (or Ms. D) loves her students. She even adopted one of them! She explains, “I adopted my daughter Beverly in 2016. She was actually a high school student of mine whom I met when I was her teacher at a foster care facility. I left my job there to adopt her. She was 17 and was aging out of foster care in just a few weeks. She is now 22.” Ms. D truly loves being a teacher.
Ms. D taught in brick and mortar schools for 9 years before going virtual. This year, she is teaching 8th grade US History (4 sections), ACT Prep for English & Reading, and 4th grade ELA Tutoring. Her students are in Maryland, New Mexico, Texas, and Tennessee, and she teaches all of them from the comfort of her home in Georgia.
When she made the transition to teaching virtually, Ms. D established her own structure to stay organized. “I purchased a separate monitor and a quality headset. I upgraded my Internet and set up an office in a dedicated room of my house. I also developed my own organizational system using Google for digital documents and records and hardcopies for taking notes during live classes. I have a binder with tabs for each school where I keep the school's important documents including their calendar, pacing guides, and grading policies for easy access.”
She was recently selected to join the Teacher Advisory Council for the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Ms. D looks forward to being able to bring virtual teaching ideas to this years' cohort and sharing her knowledge with others.
Ms. D encourages teachers to apply to join the team. Teachers who love teaching but dislike all the extra time required when working in brick and mortar schools thrive with Proximity Learning. “If you dislike sitting in morning traffic, rushing to finish lunch, having aching feet at the end of the day, and feeling unsafe due to student behaviors or health concerns, Proximity Learning may be the perfect fit for you! If you like using technology to teach and you enjoy keeping up with the latest education trends, you will enjoy teaching with Proximity.”
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