Our favorite teacher memes for 2020

Dec 29, 2020

4 minutes read

Dear fellow teachers,

Last year I wrote an open letter that was meant to be fun and supportive at the same time, and to make you welcome the new year with a positive attitude.

But 2020 happened to all of us all over the world, and we realized how things could change in the blink of an eye.

We are still teachers, still doing what we know best, but in very different conditions. However, let's try to end this year on a positive note, with some teacher memes.

Our favorite teacher memes for 2020

The new normal

At first, when schools shut down because of the pandemic, everyone had a feeling of relief. It came like a break from all the "chaos" schools imply. But then, reality stroke, and teaching online became the new normal. And all the excitement faded away.
To be or not to be serious

With the transition to online schooling, teachers have tried their best to look like they know what they are doing and to look organized and in control. It didn't quite work out that way, at least not all the time.
A different approach

Every teacher and student out there sensed the difference between teaching and learning online vs. face-to-face, especially when the teachers' requests shifted from "Stop talking!" to "Please, say something! ".
All under control ?!?

I don't think any teachers out there can honestly say they didn't feel overwhelmed at least once during the whole online teaching period this year.
Try until I cry

The feeling of insecurity, responsibility, and duty got the best out of most of us. Teachers struggled to adapt to online teaching overnight, and it hasn't been easy.
Can you hear me?

Online teaching created new recurrent lines in the classroom. The most repeated words were, "Can you hear me?". It's the line that both generates confidence that you aren't speaking in vain and makes you want to leave the class.
What do I do next?

Teachers of all ages and with different or no digital skills found themselves teaching online. They had to transfer onset classes to the online classroom, and they had to learn how to use the various apps and tools necessary in teaching remotely. They even had to adapt to teaching with the help of LMSs. And in doing so, they sometimes became students of their own learners, especially in terms of using technology.
Easy peasy

I think, to this day, almost everyone feels that teaching online is the easiest thing there is. And this couldn't be further away from the truth. But that's a struggle that only a teacher could understand.
Why???

Students had a rough year also. Mornings were pretty hard. They went straight out of bed to their online classes. It's not easy to set the boundaries between the sleeping area and the studying area of your home, especially when you have a small place where you live or you share your house with several other people.
Class ON, me OFF

Waking up in the morning to attend online classes has been challenging, and not all students managed to stay awake during classes if they woke up on time in the first place.
Just roll with it

When everything seemed like it was crumbling down, everyone counted on teachers to do the best with what they've got and maintain a certain level of normality.
I have bad days and good days

We have all discovered more about video conferencing tools this year, and two buttons became our favorite ones: microphone on/off and video on/off. They were a lifesaver when you had a bad hair day or wanted to do something else during the meetings. Also, online meetings were a pretext to show off your best hairdo since there was nowhere else you could do that.
Show yourself, bubble!

Remote learning and teaching came with technology issues of different sorts. One was related to the unstable internet connection that forced some of us to ask students to turn their cameras off. But most of the time, the problem was the opposite. Students refused to let themselves be seen online, leaving the teacher to speak to black bubbles.
Playing truant online

Students are inventive and creative, and they found alternatives to skipping classes even when they were studying online.
You have been disconnected

Online schooling has made some families struggle more than others because they had to share a device or even the same part of their house. Besides, the internet connection was not always the best because it was used for many devices at a time.
Not enough time!

I believe that every teacher went through a lot of moments when they felt they had no time left to prepare all the lessons for the next day because they still have to check assignments or attend teacher training webinars.
Forget what I said, I've changed my mind

Since technology became such an intrinsic part of our lives, students had a hard time disconnecting from their devices during classes. Some teachers even applied the method BYOD to include technology in the classroom and transform the time spent online into time spent learning. And then came the pandemic and everything shifted towards modern devices, which is somewhat a reversed version of the previous demands of the teachers.
Daydreaming

Teachers tried their best this year to deliver online classes that are engaging, fun, and also educational, but sometimes the connection was not the best.
Students will be students

Students come up with excuses all the time. And this hasn't changed with online learning.
Press My Computer on your computer

For the last meme, I thought I should find an atypical one that best summarizes the limitations of remote learning and teaching. This is a snapshot from a short clip demonstrating how hard it is to teach learners and help them understand the lesson.