Zoom is no way to do a back to school night (BTSN). It was comfortable sitting on our own couch and drinking some Apple Cider and jumping from zoom room to room to listen to the teachers. We wanted to be with the other parents, leaning over to whisper something to a friend or meeting a new parent.

Zoom BTSN gave us parents a quick glimpse into our students day of trying to learn over video being able to see our friends and potential new friends but not being able to have a quick side smile or nod. No whispers about how the kids like the class. No plans to meet up after school let out. We didn’t even try the chat feature of zoom. It was easier to text, but it wasn’t the same.

There are always parents at BTSN that we don’t see often and go out of our way to make sure we chat with in person. Not this time, we had to look at a small grainy picture of them. We could smile at the picture, but they could never have guessed we were smiling at them. We may not even be on their screen when we smiled.

The disconnect is so massive I don’t understand how the kids can handle this version of school. No bell or shuffling of feet down the hallway. No call outs in passing to confirm we were meeting later. Unable to take advantage of the unexpected passing going up and down the stairs to give a hug.

This was my 28th Back To School Night at Campbell Hall. I missed hanging out by the food on the green top during free periods. Grabbing a couple of extra cookies as we went to the next class to pass out. Meeting a new family or catching up with an old friend.

CH did a great job on having a BTSN that was informative and let us meet the teachers. I wonder if the expected that it would also let us experience our kid’s pain if only for a few minutes.