Classroom Management for Hybrid Teaching

HENDERSON HIGH SCHOOL
HUMAN RESOURCES MEETING
DECEMBER 14, 2026
SCREEN RECORDING

HR (FEMALE):
Hello, Mrs. [REDACTED], I’m [REDACTED]. Thank you for taking the time to meet with us today.

TEACHER (FEMALE):
Well, it didn’t seem optional.

HR:
Mrs. [REDACTED], are you aware of what we’re here to discuss?

TEACHER:
I hope it’s about getting a classroom aide.

HR:
Unfortunately, no. There is no budget this year for an additional aide. We’re here to discuss some concerns parents have shared about your classroom management.

TEACHER:
Seriously?

HR:
Yes. We’ve had several reports that students in the classroom are often out of their seats. One parent wrote today that they found a stapler in their child’s backpack with your name on it. They were concerned that the student must have had unsupervised access to your desk. The stapler was still full of staplers, making it a potentially dangerous item for a student to carry around the school.

TEACHER:
The parent wasn’t concerned about why their kid took my stapler?

HR:
They were concerned that you didn’t notice the stapler being removed. In addition, other teachers in the building have reported that they’ve seen some of your students wandering the hallways when they should be in class.

TEACHER:
Have they? Interesting. And are you meeting with those teachers, too? To discuss not “going the extra mile to keep our school environment conducive to learning?” Third pillar of the school code this year, if I remember correctly.

HR:
I can’t discuss other teachers’ disciplinary issues with you, Mrs. [REDACTED]. We’re here to discuss steps you can take to get your classroom under control.

TEACHER:
You’re punking me, right? This is a joke?

HR:
It is not.

TEACHER:
OK, fine. You’re serious. Listen [REDACTED], you understand the situation I’m in, right? You know where I am teaching from?

HR:
Yes. You’ve elected to teach remotely from your hotel room.

TEACHER:
You say “elected” as though I had a choice about this. When I signed up to chaperone the Senior World Studies class trip to Egypt, I was told any emergency medical expenses would be covered by the trip insurance, but then when we were all exposed to Ebola on the layover in Ethiopia and told we had to quarantine here, you said I’d have to take sick days if I didn’t teach remotely.

HR:
That’s district policy, Mrs. [REDACTED].

TEACHER:
There’s a district policy on Ebola?

HR:
There’s a district policy on post-chaperone days off that states that, at the conclusion of the contracted chaperoned hours, no additional time off is given, as your supplementary compensation for travel time is provided monetarily, not in vacation time. We made the accommodation for you teach remotely if you didn’t want to use your contracted sick days.

TEACHER:
[REDACTED], come on. This is ridiculous. I’m not asking for vacation time. The US government is not letting us come home. I’m stuck here. I’d come back to school if you’d let me – for [EXPLETIVE] sake, I’m not sick. I’ve tested negative every [EXPLETIVE] day. And now on top of everything, you’re making me teach remotely to a classroom with no actual live adult in the room and hauling me into disciplinary hearings because the kids keep flipping the iPad around so I can’t see them ransacking my desk?

HR:
It’s a difficult situation, to be sure, but a teacher with your years of experience should be able to control a classroom. We have some handouts here for you – a few ideas on digital classroom management from the pandemic years that you might find useful. I’ll put them in your mailbox, and if you can just sign off on them when you come in next…

TEACHER:
I just…[REDACTED]? You’re putting them in my mailbox?

HR:
Yes, they’ll be in there a few minutes after this meeting.

TEACHER:
And you want me to read them and try to implement the ideas in them?

HR:
You might find them helpful, yes.

TEACHER:
And you don’t see any potential obstacles to my following through with this plan?

HR:
Depending on the personalities of your class, there may be some strategies you find work better than others. It is up to you to determine the best path forward to limit the distracting and disruptive behavior.

TEACHER:
And, again, these handouts will be in my mailbox?

HR:
Yes, right after this meeting.

TEACHER:
In the school? In Henderson, Nevada?

HR:
Yes.

TEACHER:
Can you put your hand in front of your face, [REDACTED]?

HR:
That won’t be necessary.

TEACHER:
Can you do it anyway, please? For me?

HR:
This meeting is finished, Mrs. [REDACTED]. Please sign the handouts and return them to the HR office mailbox when you’ve implemented the new strategies.

TEACHER:
You’re AI! You’re–

[END TRANSCRIPT]

(Teacher Insurrection Hearings Vol 5: Hybrid Teaching)

THIS COULD HAPPEN is a collection of speculative short stories based on the news, which itself these days scarcely seems believable. And yet here we are.

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