With all of the happenings of the world today, teachers were, like all of us, expected to adapt. Sarah Gilchrist is a special education teacher at Anson Street School and is one of many teachers who has found online learning a way of connecting with her students, now, it’s not only her students following along, Sarah has many fans who are engaging each day, including families from across NSW and Queensland.

Before the ripple effect Sarah’s YouTube channel started as a way to connect with her students who are learning from home. “Most of my class are non-verbal so I can't really talk to them on the phone and their parents are sometimes working from home.” Sarah continued, “This platform allows me to still interact with them and students are still able to see a familiar face during this very confusing time.”

Her channel has since evolved and is now used to assist any of the school’s families, as well as her own friends and family who have also shared it to their friends and family who are trying to stay connected with learning while at home.

Sarah uploads three videos each school day, “We check in, we look at the day of the week, date, weather, what the book we are going to read for the day is and an activity that the child can do around the house with minimal support. There is a story book read loud and an AUSLAN video (Australian sign language).”

With so much response and engagement online Sarah mentioned it was a bit overwhelming at first. “It’s nice that families and students are still able to connect with us whilst they are unable to be physically here in school, and it means I have to brush my hair every day,” Sarah laughed. “My students tell me that I am so cool now because I am a ‘YouTuber,’ they get excited that they are still able to see me and they enjoy listening to stories I am able to read to them.”

With the world a little chaotic right now, Sarah reminds us to remain kind, “I am one person in a whole world of educators who are currently trying to redesign what school looks like. We are still learning the best way to do things and each student, family and school are different, which means that each educator might be trying a different way. We are pretty creative people but is perhaps our trickiest task yet. Please be patient with your teachers and parents, please use this time to show kindness and calm to your own children.”

To follow along you can find all of the videos on YouTube, ‘Teaching With Miss Gilchrist.’