Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Our New Normal


This morning I sat on the floor of my office, responding to one of my student’s Flipgrid videos. Leia’s head was on my lap as Elle told me how much she enjoyed The War I Finally Won. My mom had recommended it to her the last time mom subbed in my classroom. Elle said, “I can’t wait to tell her I loved it...” and my heart broke just a little.

We’re now in week three of staying home, week two of remote learning, and I’m not sure about this new normal. To be blunt, I can do this. I see memes online about how hard this is on teachers. I’m not one to ever pick up the teacher as martyr card. I’m at home. I’m talking to my students. I’m finding ways for them to continue learning online. That isn’t what makes this hard. I watch friends online post about making the decision to separate from their family because they work in the hospital. My former students post photos of them in protective gear heading to work at said hospitals and beg people to stay home. That’s hard. This, I can do this.

What is hard on me are those quiet words in a Flipgrid video from students, or typed in an email:

Mrs. S, I’m ready to be back.

I hate being stuck at home.

I miss you and our classmates.

Mrs. S, when do you think we can all be together again?

That’s hard. I think many teachers have soft hearts. We carry the weight of our students with us. I worry about them. I think about them throughout every day and when I lay down to sleep at night. It’s a struggle.

And so, I find myself in this new normal and learning what works for us. In case anyone is looking for suggestions, here’s what my 7th grade Language Arts teacher and I have decided to do for our students. 

Daily reading and writing
We want them to continue to read for enjoyment, to write. We gave lots of suggestions as to where they can find books online, through our local library, through companies providing free books online, and through our local bookstore. 

For writing, I suggested journaling each day, but in case they don’t want to dwell on our present circumstances, they can also write fiction, sketch and draw, write reviews, etc. They need to “turn in” one day’s writing by Friday each week.

Weekly check-ins

This is in a variety of ways. 

Flipgrid: We post a video each week for them to respond to on Flipgrid. This week mine was a book talk on Dragon Hoops, which I just finished, and Stamped, which I’m currently reading. I also told them what I’ve been doing for fun and asked them to respond through Flipgrid or email. I then reply back to them.

Google Classroom poll question: I give a poll question each week just to connect. Last week was in response to our read aloud, did they want me to keep reading or pause and add more chapters next week? This week I asked them if they liked our weekly connection on Zoom or if they’d rather I skip it? Overwhelmingly they have asked me to keep the Zoom.

Zoom: As I mentioned above, I have a weekly Zoom. I teach three classes, so on Wednesdays I have a weekly Zoom, one for each class. I told them upfront it was optional and would only last 15-20 minutes. Importantly, I came to it with an agenda that I had written down. I quickly gave them all a course on Zoom, asked them to mute themselves unless they were talking to avoid feedback from everyone else.  I used it mainly to touch base, tell them how much I missed them, see if anyone had questions, and we did a quick share at the end to see what they were up to. 

Read Aloud

I was reading aloud The False Prince when we were last at school. We were around chapter 20. When the mandate went out that we were out of school, several kids reached out to ask what we would do about the read aloud. Looking online, it seems most publishers have relaxed their usual rules and have allowed online read alouds, assuming that you aren't posting them publicly. So, I’ve created a Flipgrid just for our read aloud. I read a chapter at a time and upload the video. It’s interesting to see how many views are on these videos. Several kids told me they lay in bed and listen to me read, that it helps when they’re stressed. That both gave me joy and brought me to tears. 

Weekly Focus
Next week as we had a bit of new curriculum, we will add a “weekly focus” to our online learning. For April, it will be poetry. The kids will get a set of poems for the week with the directions to read the poems, respond to them, and on Friday either share their thinking or a poem of their own.

Children First
Our district’s mandate, and the direction from our state, has been that we need to not operate as business as usual. Our priority is connecting with kids. Being there for them. Then, keeping their minds active. I appreciate that. We do need to be putting kids first here, not trying to cram in everything we would normally be teaching.

My district, like many others, had been providing meals for students. Today they are starting a checkout program for our Chromebooks. They’re purchasing hotspots for folks without internet. They’ve copied our plans and have copies at all of the schools for kids with no online access. I personally have two of my seventy-five without internet, but the parents connect with me through their phones. We want to reach everyone.

Everyday I wake up and pray that our new normal will end soon. That this virus will decide it’s done enough harm and be gone. Whenever that happens, I hope we find a new appreciation for our schools, for days spent with students, and for the solid feeling I get deep into my toes as I lead a class. I miss it more than I could ever say.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Before


Every morning, I awake.
For a moment I’m filled
With a feeling of hope.
Of a time from before.

Who knew I would long
For hugs,
For leisurely trips,
To the grocery store,
To days spent with students.

Who knew how much I depended
On seeing their faces each day,
On my bookshelves to browse,
While giving book recommendations.

There are days I awake angry.
Frustrated by the lack of time in the classroom.
At the loss for my students.
Sad at the notion of what this means for Seniors,
For those that are retiring,
For families celebrating milestones apart,
And missing out on those normal connections.

Then I watch the news.
I’m filled with anxiety,
But also hope.
Look at all of those people stepping up.
Those in the medical fields that are fighting 
On the front lines.

My eyes fill with tears as 
Images of former students
Bravely donning their protective gear
Fills my feed.
I think of everyone working in essential jobs,
Leaving home each day
Making sure our country is still running. 
And I pray.

So I do what I can,
Which is to stay home
So others can do their jobs.
Connect with my students,
Trying to offer them any reassurance,
Or a bit of normalcy
That I can.
And I know that one day soon
We will return to as it was before.
My hope is that we will all be the better for it.
And appreciate our lives anew.

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Finding the Bright Spots


Yesterday I had a Zoom call with each of my classes. It was not mandatory, of course, because not all of them have easy access to the online world. Also, many of them have parents working from home. I presume they also might have calls they need to be on or things they need to do. That being said, it was so good to see the kids I could. 

In each class roughly half of the students came in. I taught them the basics of Zoom (mute your device, the chat on the side, etc.) They shared what they’ve been writing. We talked about our current read aloud that I’ve been recording for them on Flipgrid. I told them I missed them. 

A friend asked which week so far of staying home have I preferred, Spring Break or this version of school. Without a doubt it would be this week. Last week I had a lot of time on my hands. I immersed myself in all things COVID-19. I read, and freaked out, and read some more. It was not good for my mental health.

Things are worse in the United States and across the globe this week for sure. My anxiety is still present. However, I’m distancing myself from the reports as much as possible. I know it’s bad. I know that the numbers are getting worse. But, and I think this is what’s key for me, I’m doing the best I can. I’m staying at home, as is my entire family. We aren’t seeing anyone, even six feet apart. When I had to go to the grocery store this week, I took all of the precautions I could and also tried to ensure we wouldn’t need anything else for two weeks. 

It’s not enough.

This virus scares me. But I have friends who are on the frontlines. They’re doctors and nurses doing the best they can to protect us. I feel like staying home, seeing everyone in a few weeks or months is the absolute least I can do here. Not everyone is able to because their work is essential, so we will be glad to help out since we can.

Each morning I still get out to walk the dogs. I live in a small town and rarely see anyone. When I do, I cross the street or they do. It’s a weird new normal. Today, as I walked, I left a message on Voxer for a friend in Pennsylvania. As I was finishing up I heard, “Mrs. S!” Stopping in the middle of the street I looked up to see one of my former students sitting on her front porch, just back from a run. I stood there, probably thirty feet apart, and talked to her for just a minute or so. After leaving her to finish my walk, I marveled at how much happier I was. I miss my class. I miss my family. I miss teaching. And if I, an introvert, feel this way, I cannot imagine how my extrovert friends are doing. 

Yesterday during my Zoom call I told my students I was starting a Padlet for them. Not required, but I wanted them to add photos of bright spots of their day. That even in the midst of this horrible time, we can find a bright spot. Each night as I get ready for bed, I write in my journal what that day was like. I always end on a bright spot. I’m sure that a month ago I wouldn’t have counted a conversation that lasted less than three minutes as a bright spot in my day. I certainly do now. Times have certainly changed. 

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

When Everything Is Out of Your Control


Hey all, today is day two of our spring break, but it isn’t anything like I thought it would be. I figured I’d be getting back late last night from Michigan where I would be presenting at their annual reading conference. I thought I’d settle down with some books, get some writing done, rest and recharge, ready to come back from break and tackle the fourth quarter of school.


Well, best laid plans and all.


Instead I, like many of you, am at home. I read news articles far too often, need to get off of social media, and constantly worry I am not doing enough to protect my family from a virus I don’t understand. 


To put it bluntly, it sucks. 


I worry about my students. I worry about my family, the one I live with and the extended family spread far and wide. I think about friends and their kids. I worry about our economy and local small businesses. 


I worry, a lot.


My students all know that I struggle with anxiety. There are certain things that trigger it, but a guaranteed trigger is the feeling of a lack of control. And you could say we’ve hit that in a big way right now. My teenage sons are convinced I am the most overprotective mom out there because I don’t want them hanging out with their friends. I’ve tried to explain the concept of social distancing, but they point to the CDC’s recommendation of ten or less, so why can’t they? I’ve allowed my oldest to see his girlfriend, the youngest to run with his friend, but that’s it. Even with that I worry I’m being too lax. 

I’ve talked to friends who are doctors, nurses, and scientists. They all say this is something to take seriously. Stay home. 

And the worry increases.


What I’ve found is helping is keeping busy. I began to curate a Padlet for my students that has cool things authors are offering online. (Like Jarrett J. Krosoczka and Mo Willems, just to name two.) Yesterday I drew with each author’s video linked above. I also learned professionally from Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle. I connected with educators around the world. I did yoga from home thanks to our local yoga studio moving online. 


It helped.


Each day I’ve made sure to get out and walk. Today I decided to make sure I was supporting local businesses by ordering some books online and picking up a curbside lunch from a local deli. I also mailed payment for appointments I cancelled due to this ridiculous virus to the folks that would have lost money otherwise. It’s not enough, but I’m trying.


I saw this poem and shared it on Facebook this morning. It encompasses my biggest hope. This virus is horrible, but maybe if we face it together we can come out stronger on the other side. 




Stay healthy, friends. This song is speaking to me just a bit. Hope you have a book, journal, or some music to pass the time with.