Back to the Classroom
Lily Song
by Lily Song
High School Instructor

It’s been a rough few years with Covid and online classes. Now that things are finally going back to normal how is everyone adjusting?

My school held online classes for the last month during the last school term. While I still had to commute to school to do the classes, compared to in person teaching it was definitely more relaxed. 

During my three years in Japan, this was my first time doing online lessons at any of my schools. So for me at least, it was extra stressful. Not only going into the process of doing online lessons but also coming out from this process. 

Before coming to Project Genius I worked at an ALT dispatch company. At that time, I was used more as a secondary assistant. In other words, my role was less impactful. Therefore when Covid first hit and a lot of schools went to online lessons, I was spared from that. 

That’s why this was my first time doing online lessons. The process going into it was stressful. Setting up teams, changing lesson plans so that students can participate online, and rescheduling the students final speaking test before their exam. It took a week to really get into the flow. It was also during this time that I found the merits of online classes. But, as fast as online classes came, it also went away.

Coming into this new school year, and doing the first in person lesson again after close to two month I was nervous again. But, a highlight of my school is that the teachers are given one week before the official start of classes to not only prepare but also to interact with the students and other teachers. It may seem like a small thing, but it definitely made the transition into the new year and new classes much easier. 

I know with Covid, a lot of schools most likely held online lessons. So I’m curious as to how everyone is adjusting to this switch back to in person classes.