Teaching middle school social studies remotely during the coronavirus pandemic was one of the most challenging times of Steven Panchenko’s life. There were times when his bilingual students at Global Village Academy in Northglenn, Colorado, would freeze up on screen and miss five to 10 minutes of class. Others wouldn’t be able to attend at all if someone else in their homes needed to use the internet for work or medical purposes, he said.
That frustration increased after Panchenko signed off from work and tried to relax. Panchenko, 25, said that his internet connection would lag while he was playing Xbox games. There were other times when he’d try to watch a movie only to end up watching the buffering wheel spin on his screen. To make matters worse, there wasn’t any room in his monthly salary of $1,200 to upgrade his internet service.
