To say that 2020 was a challenging year is an understatement. Being plopped down into the middle of a global pandemic, with a newborn, and sometimes feeling like a pawn in the political world of Covid was more than I signed up for. But, as I look to 2021 I find it important to reflect on some of what I have learned along the way. In fact, I was reading this article from NAIS and I couldn’t quite get this sentence out of my head, “Fast-paced social changes mean both tremendous turmoil and tremendous opportunity—how can we maximize the latter while we are acutely aware of the former?” I hope this reflection (which will not be exhaustive) will help me grow for years to come.
1) Move slowly. Everything in Covid days seems to move slowly. From trips to the grocery store to neighborhood walks. If you are trying to move at the same pace you did last year in January you are likely getting frustrated.
School: We aren’t going to get through what we did in years past. But is that a terrible thing? If that extra day before the test let’s even one more student gain a better understanding of the material, is it so bad? I remind myself of this every day as I find ways to balance student learning, differentiation, and opportunity.
2) Be Patient. Completely in line with moving slowly means we need to be patient.
School: Outcomes take longer and people might be more sporadic. We need to be patient with everything and everyone. So many different emotions to experience and we don’t all feel them at the same time. One day you are thriving while the person next to you is barely surviving. Take a deep breath and acknowledge the range. Be patient with others including students, faculty, parents, and administration.
3) Say, “Sure why not” more.
School: The world changed the rules on us really quickly. Let’s do the same for our students. Pre Covid I was definitely pretty rigid with certain parts of my classroom and course. But I find myself way more flexible now without losing integrity. It feels good for both me and the students as I lean into this new normal. A few examples, “I didn’t sleep well last night, Can I please hand in that tomorrow?”, “Can we take a brain break and dance?”, “Ms Goggin, let’s have a worm off”. “Can we please move the test to Tuesday? We have a lot going on.”
4) Know that everyone’s narrative is extremely important to them. Like everyone else in the world I certainly have had my share of pity parties. While I appreciate it when someone says to me, “this must be hard with two littles” I often reply, “It’s hard on all of us”. We can’t measure the impact of these events on anyone but ourselves. We don’t need to compare them either. We simply need to recognize that we are all working through it. This time has given us things to struggle with but it has also gifted us things we may have needed.
School: This one is hard. Supporting colleagues and students is always easy for me and really need to acknowledge that it has been a bit traumatic for folks. We all know that students need to be in school. Student happiness and teachers’ safety is important. I have also never in my career felt like these two were at odds quite this intensely. Discovering a way to find a middle ground is definitely critical and yet at the same time doesn’t necessarily work for all parties. But we continue to do our best to meet all needs whether we are in person or online. Back to that theme song… This is How We Do, Katy Perry.
5) Hug the people you can. Take advantage of those in your pods and bubbles. Keep those close to you REAL close. Don’t take the human touch for granted. Get through it!
School: So we have to stay six feet apart. So we have to talk with masks. So we have to be silent when eating. So we have to stay in grade-level teams and cohorts. Never have I seen fewer people over a period of time. CSB is my daily community. Those boys and faculty are the ones I am gifted for this experience. So I hug the little ones tight when leaving for work, count on these folks to work alongside me to learn and laugh all day and do it all over again the following.
6) Lastly, FIND the FUN.
Even if it’s in a set of 6 inch slap band rulers for your class. It’s amazing the JOY they bring:)
