By Danielle Smith
Staff Writer
Mira Costa English teacher Stacy Cabrera is taking maternity leave for five weeks during second semester, but she plans to stay present through her use of interactive technology with her classes.
While she is gone, Cabrera’s English 11 and philosophy classes will be conducted based on online chatting. Cabrera has recently integrated technology into her teaching by adopting a paperless system with the use of Google Classroom. Cabrera said that this is her way of ensuring the transition will go smoothly.
“All assignments are already due on websites that check for originality and plagiarism, and all discussion questions are on Google Classroom,” Cabrera said. “It should not be too terribly difficult to transition; the only difference is I will not be in the room in body form.”
Cabrera put together a binder outlining every day of the semester that she will be gone by using a new system. Although she has used Edmodo in the past, Cabrera now uses Google Classroom in preparation for her leave. Cabrera said it is a more interactive site where she can post assignments.
“Cabrera is an interesting teacher, and I think it will translate through the computer,” senior Will Proctor said. “Most of my teachers use a lot of online tools, so I don’t think it will be that much of a change.”
Cabrera plans to answer any questions students have during class through skype on days when she needs to explain lectures. Although she said she is unsure how she will feel before and after her delivery, the online communication gives her enough flexibility to be available to her students while still resting at home with her newborn baby.
“There are things that are new and not perfect, but we will work through it and learn to use Google Classroom,” Cabrera said. “It is a pioneer experiment for my classes, and my hope is that I will be involved daily while on maternity leave.”
Modeling her new system after those of other teachers on campus who use technology has helped inform Cabrera’s own plan for her classes. She has been experimenting with new techniques with Google Classroom for the past few weeks to ensure that her students are comfortable with the technology when she leaves.
“She puts so much effort into her classes, and I am confident she will continually give it her all,” senior Alexa Faubert said. “I have never had a teacher that cares about her students as much as she does.”
In addition to the new technology, Cabrera hopes to find a permanent substitute teacher to oversee the classes during her absence. The substitute will be responsible for a daily lesson plan and for informing the students about using the websites they are supposed to use to interact with Cabrera during class.
“I think it’s a great idea if she is going to be absent for something that is unavoidable,” English Department co-chair Alan Zeoli said. “The more that she can keep her hand in, the more that she can guide the substitute to keep her standards and keep going with what she started.”
Some students have displayed their worry about how Cabrera’s absence will affect the quality of education, but many of her students said they are reassured by her care in preparing her class to succeed. Cabrera said that she is willing to do whatever it takes in order to maintain the same level of learning in her classroom.
“It is hard when teachers leave, and everyone’s first thought is ‘What will this mean for me,’ but we are still people with lives; we do not plan things to spite our classes,” said Cabrera. “I will do everything I can to ensure whoever takes over is prepared to teach the material.”
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