Socratic Seminars via Zoom? Sadly, but happily! Yes!

My setup in my bedroom. The screen hides my bed and allows me to have an area to get work done and not worry about my students seeing my bedroom.

I actually managed to make this happen - a Socratic seminar via Zoom with a bunch of 6th graders.
 
I am not sure where you stand, but I am going to be brutally honest and run the risk of sounding like (to some) a complete brat. But....here it goes.

It's taking a lot out of me to teach online. It's not like I am teaching online all day, but it feels like I am, and it's not like I don't have a space to work, I do, but it's not my classroom. And even if I spend 2 hours online, I am spending much more time than that planning and figuring out things I really don't want to be figuring out in the first place. Then I have parent emails, virtual meetings and collaboration with colleagues to decide how we are going to do this for (the worst part) the unforeseeable future. After all is said and done, I am checking and double checking which students I saw online and who was missing and who hasn't been doing their work and why. Is there something else we can do to help them get things done? Am I not trying hard enough? I am exhausted like this is my first year teaching, though most of it might just be the impending depression I feel from this entire situation in general. There is absolutely nothing I enjoy about distance learning, expect seeing my students faces each day. But that's hardly been much because it was mostly fragmented conversations whenever I could get them online with me. 

Until today..

Today, all of that changed. I did something that gave me joy in teaching again. I carved out 2 hours and planned 4 half hour sessions on Zoom with 14 students in each meeting and was determined to give the students what they've been asking for, an opportunity to chat with each other and what I've wanted, an opportunity to do some teaching the way I used to, using Socratic seminars. 
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I read an article with tips on how to humanize digital teaching and it was suggested to create opportunities for dialogue and discourse. So I feel like I am on the right track here. 
 How did I make it happen? Well it wasn't perfect, but it wasn't half bad either! 

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