APOLLO BEACH, Fla. — Miami rapper Pitbull said he is proud of teachers who accepted the challenge to teach students remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pitbull, a co-founder of SLAM!, shared the message with teachers who work for SLAM!, a nonprofit network of public charter schools serving students nationwide.
"Just goes to show you, no matter what they throw our way, we find a way to pivot and make it happen," he said in the video.
Pitbull said teachers are the prime example of utilizing technology.
"I know it's scary times. I know there's a lot of fear out there, but you got to take the word fear, think about it. It's either forget everything and run or face everything and rise," he said.
Danielle Castro teaches Kindergarten at SLAM! Academy at Apollo Beach. This week, she taught her children about vowels and adjectives.
She said the best part of distance learning is she still gets to see the faces of her students.
"They just say, we miss you. I'm like I am so glad I get to see you though," she said.
In another virtual classroom, Michele Goble told her sixth graders to pick out interesting facts and important people while they watch a documentary.
"Our students are reading a historical fiction novel called 'Fever 1973.' It's a historical fiction account of the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1973," said Goble.
Castro and Goble said they miss their classrooms and seeing their students. However, they said they will continue to be there for their students.
"I'm trying to keep everything like the same as in the classroom, keep the same routine with them," said Castro.
"We had to jump in there with both feet and figure it out as we went. Our students, our families have been absolutely amazing. We are trying new things out everyday in our classes with our students," said Goble. "It's been amazing. It has been above and beyond what I anticipated we would be able to do."