91-year-old professor captured teaching virtually goes viral

‘These kids have no idea how lucky they are,’ his daughter says

Sabrina Barr
Thursday 24 September 2020 17:09 BST
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A 91-year-old professor captured teaching his students virtually has gone viral online, with numerous people praising the educator for his dedication to his craft.

Charles Krohn, a college professor, has taught English at the University of St Thomas in Minnesota, US for more than 50 years.

Recently, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the seasoned educator has had to navigate no longer being able to teach his students face to face.

Mr Krohn initially experienced some issues with his computer at home when making the transition to remote teaching, so his daughter, Julia Krohn, offered for her father to use her computer at her home in Houston, Texas.

Ms Krohn recently shared a photograph on Facebook of her father teaching his students on the computer, saying that the nonegarian was “embracing virtual teaching like a BOSS”.

The post has since gone viral online, accumulating 63,000 reactions and being shared 28,000 times.

“My father has been a professor of English at The University of St. Thomas for 50+ years.  Here he is, at 91-years-old, embracing virtual teaching like a BOSS,” Ms Krohn wrote in the caption.

“Listening to and watching him teach Homer’s The Odyssey is a true gift. He’s been teaching it for decades, and yet he has the passion and excitement for the text as though it’s the first time.  These kids have no idea how lucky they are.”

Speaking to Good Morning America, Ms Krohn said that many of her father’s former students, some of whom he taught in the 1960s, have shared and commented on the post.

"[There were] all these memories of him in the classroom and how they may not remember much about St. Thomas, but they remember so much about Professor Krohn… that he's the most kind-hearted, most compassionate person you'll ever meet," she said.

Ms Krohn added that she hasn’t watched her father teach in person in around 20 years.

"The fact that [he's teaching] virtually and still engaging and so smart and so quick... it was just this beautiful moment that I just had to capture," she stated.

Several of the comments underneath the Facebook post praised Professor Krohn for his commitment to teaching during these uncertain times.

“God bless him! His students are definitely some of the luckiest!!” one person said.

“My first professor at University of St Thomas and it was such a blessing to have him for two semesters straight,” someone else wrote.

“He taught me so much and opened up a new world of literature. His passion and dedication were not unnoticed. I’ll never forget my experience with Professor Krohn.”

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