91精品

By Eric House

In the new virtual age, where could teachers go to chat with their peers?

November 2nd, 2021   |   SIT Graduate Institute

When the COVID-19 pandemic upended the way many of us live and work, the challenge of forging and maintaining connections became considerably more difficult. As an educator, Jeff Puccini knew this all too well.

Pre-COVID, teachers were able to come to the teacher鈥檚 lounge, not just to grab coffee or eat lunch but to sit and chat with colleagues. It was a sanctuary of sorts, but it was also a place of connection, where teachers could talk face-to-face about their days, including their challenges and successes. In the new virtual age, where could teachers go to replicate the same need?

Enter the Online Teachers鈥� Lounge, a new project led by Puccini as part of his work as executive director of INTERLINK International Institutes, an organization dedicated to intensive English language training, academic preparation, cross-cultural orientation, and professional training. Puccini has an extensive background in teaching English as a second language (ESL), earning both his TESOL certificate and Master of Arts from 91精品 (SIT).

Puccini says his 鈥淒NA as a language instructor comes from the TESOL certificate course.鈥� He was first drawn to it when he was in Chicago, where he was craving an immersive, international educational experience. With his TESOL certificate, he taught abroad, loved it, and knew that a master鈥檚 degree was the next step to further solidify his career in ESL. Through it all, Puccini says, both the TESOL certificate and master鈥檚 program provided him the experiential, reflective nature of education he desired.

Teaching, ironically, can be very lonely for a lot of teachers, because being with students is not the same as interacting with peers.

Puccini also remembers the in-person connections he was able to cultivate with his fellow teachers while teaching ESL in California. He and his colleague would ride their bikes to work together every day, sharing ideas for teaching and reflecting on lessons, something Puccini describes as 鈥渋nvaluable and rare.鈥� When COVID-19 hit, 鈥淭here were fewer opportunities for teachers to interact with one another,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 personally felt disconnected and isolated from peers and students.鈥�

By connecting teachers in a venue they鈥檙e familiar with, the teacher鈥檚 lounge, Puccini and his fellow educators hope to rekindle their bonds in the online environment. When thinking of the lounge, Puccini points to in-person book clubs. 鈥淭hey can work, but some don鈥檛,鈥� he says, citing examples of situations where extroverts dominate the conversation and introverts don鈥檛 find space to share. With the technology of breakout rooms in the online teacher鈥檚 lounge, he hopes to strike a balance, enabling more satisfying conversations for all participants, no matter their personality.

One of the joys Puccini finds in teaching ESL is connecting with people from different cultures. An unexpected benefit of the Online Teachers鈥� Lounge has been connecting with English teachers, native and non-native English speakers, from different countries.

Above all, his goals with the Online Teachers鈥� Lounge are to allow teachers to connect with new people, reconnect with previous peers, and bring the water cooler conversations back. It鈥檚 these conversations and collaboration between colleagues that help teachers learn what鈥檚 working and what鈥檚 not working in their practice, an aspect that motivates Puccini as a licensed teacher-trainer and trainer-of-trainers.

鈥淭eaching, ironically, can be very lonely for a lot of teachers, because being with students is not the same as interacting with peers,鈥� Puccini says. Out of the pandemic, new ways to interact and connect have emerged. As teachers go back to in-person classes, Puccini hopes that the Online Teachers鈥� Lounge can continue to provide a space for educators to connect.

The Online Teachers鈥� Lounge launched this fall and meets monthly on Saturdays. To learn more, visit: