10 Pre-Summer Memes for the Digital Teaching Era

Summer is on the horizon, but for many teachers jumping into online teaching for the first time, the stress is just the same as if it’s the beginning of the school year. As with most difficult moments, it’s fair to say that we’ll all look back on this crash-course into online teaching and laugh—but why not laugh now too? Here are some memes to express what’s going on in your mind as you conduct your class from home.

When your assignment inbox fills up the day before break:

The kids might be able to ride off into the sunset once school is over, but you’re left holding the bag with all their assignments to grade. Nothing a little coffee and manic energy can’t solve (ideally right away, but let’s be real—probably the day before final grades are due).

When you can’t decide what to wear when teaching online:

You thought putting together outfits for regular teaching days was tough. Now, it’s a daily battle to decide whether you’ll risk students seeing those sweatpants beneath your keyboard.

When you’ve explained how to turn assignments in for the 90th time:

You get it. Kids ask the same questions over and over again, and you’re all new to the online classroom. But shouldn’t having your 1,000 reminders in writing make it easier to remember? No? You must have been mistaken.

When administration senses half-measures with teacher dress standards:

You know what it means to be professional. You do. But never has the phrase “pics or it didn’t happen” been more applicable.

When you just know students are completing assignments too fast:

You saw them work in class. They can’t fool you.

When homeschooling parents resoundingly agree on the difficulty of teaching:

Teachers and parents have always been on the same team. We all want the kids to succeed, after all. But it’s nice to know when this Freaky Friday is over, no one will ever doubt the value of your job again.

When you get the latest scoop on meme culture:

Now that you’re all online together, your students have a lot to teach you.

When you leave the camera for a restroom break:

You thought stepping out of the physical classroom would result in chaos? That’s nothing to the digital classroom, where dogs and cell phones and video games are within your students’ reach the moment you turn your back.

When your students tell you a meme was popular five years ago:

Your students are just jealous they don’t have years of experienced meme humor to draw from. Besides, your colleagues will think you’re hilarious when you send the screenshot later.

When teaching online ends up working out:

You might not want to make a career out of it, but you might also be pleasantly surprised when some of your online teaching ideas actually pan out. At least you’ll be prepared for the next pandemic. ?

Get Online Teaching Tools

The road from spring break to summer is long even in a normal year. Throw in a pandemic and online learning, and it can feel never-ending. That’s why Advancement Courses has created the following professional development courses to help make your journey into online teaching smoother. The first offers 3 free PD hours, and the remainder are offered for both graduate and continuing education credit for your salary advancement or recertification needs. In addition to these, we have 280 online, self-paced professional development courses covering both foundational topics and emerging trends in K–12 education.

• Launching Online Learning (Free Micro Course): Struggling to adapt your lessons to an online environment? This course shows you how to set up a digital classroom, find quality online resources, and adapt teaching practices for the online space. Plus, you’ll receive 3 PD hours for free upon completion.

• Cultivating a Supportive Classroom Environment: Prioritizing Safe Learning: Create a positive, safe, and supportive classroom environment that will allow students to thrive mentally, emotionally, socially, and academically. In this course, you’ll learn how to help students self-identify and self-manage their emotions, develop social awareness, collaborate, and interact positively with others.

• Respect, Educate, and Protect: Cultivating Digital Citizenship in 21st-Century Learners: Teach your students how to make informed and responsible decisions online. Learn the nine essential elements of digital citizenship and how to integrate them into instruction.

• Fostering Computer Literacy: Integrate computer literacy lessons into any classroom to meet Common Core and ISTE standards and prepare your students for a lifetime of computer use. Develop strategies to encourage computer literacy by teaching students typing skills, the difference between hardware and software, and how to be good digital citizens.