Reflections from community college: how the pandemic made me a better teacher

Herding cats was the image that came to my mind as I made the mad dash to virtually migrate my community college Intro to Humanities 101 class from face to face to distance learning. The coronavirus hit California with a vengeance and on March 19, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared all schools, including the community colleges, closed until further notice.

All the plans I had for the semester were now useless. Showing films like “Frida” and “A Lust for Life” was out of the question. While Zoom didn’t allow me to screen movies, I did make liberal use of Youtube clips. The class discussions, group assignments, and readings – and the field trip to the Grammy Museum which I had excitedly put on the syllabus just