I Actually Like Teaching on Zoom

There may be less human warmth. But there can be more human connection.

By Viet Thanh Nguyen

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Mr. Nguyen, a contributing opinion writer, is the author of the novel “The Sympathizer” and its forthcoming sequel, “The Committed.” He is a professor of English, American studies and comparative literature at the University of Southern California.

  • Feb. 15, 2021

“Here’s an unpopular opinion: I like teaching on Zoom.

Many accounts of teaching on Zoom or other online platforms recount its horrors. And much is horrible: teachers and students without stable internet connections or adequate technology; too much intimacy, with overcrowded homes that teachers or students might find embarrassing for others to see; and not enough intimacy, with the human connection attenuated online.

As a college professor, I, too, miss some of the elements of teaching in a classroom, including the intellectual energy that can flow around a seminar table, the performative aspect of lecturing to a large audience and the little chats that take place by happenstance during breaks or after class with students.

What I don’t miss is my 10-mile drive to campus and back. I don’t miss pondering my wardrobe choices in the morning. The relative informality of the Zoom era means that I would feel overdressed if I wore a blazer to teach. And if I don’t wear a blazer, I don’t have to wear slacks. Or put on shoes. Why would I wear shoes inside my house, anyway?” . . .