Teaching through COVID-19

Let me start out by saying that I'm not sure, after 4 weeks of this, whether I'm doing enough, too much or too little. All I know for sure is that I miss my classroom, my students, my colleagues and my normalcy. I miss fifth grade banter that made me laugh out loud on a daily basis. I miss field trips and group work and my morning high five or fist bump. I miss debriefing at the end of day with my colleagues about our shared students. I miss teaching!

Although I miss those things I am equally amazed at the way our district made it possible for us to work through this pandemic and create a virtual school setting within two days. Our IT department has made some really great decisions that have allowed us to stay connected with our students and families and provide a bit of routine as well as academics to our students. Before all of this I felt intimidated that I had to dabble in technology here and there, and I definitely dosed it out slowly as to not feel too overwhelmed. 

Now I don't know what I would do without it! My DAILY routines consists of Google Classroom, Google Slides, Jamboard, Webex Teams, Quicktime Player, Class Dojo and I even created my own Youtube channel! I feel like for the most part we are all starting to settle into a "routine" (if that is what you can call it), as we all hunker down to accept our new normal. My students started sending messages on Webex just minutes after hearing the news that we were closed for the rest of the year. I was in tears as I read their messages to one another stating their current feelings about the situation and offering support to help each other get through probably one of the most difficult times of their young lives.

Student response to school closing

My family and I getting ready for our Banting parade!

student response to school closing

These are their sentiments as well as mine. I am a teacher and a parent of the School District of Waukesha, and I couldn't be more proud of BOTH of those roles. I truly believe we are pioneers at a time where uncertainty is so prevalent. We are doing everything within our control to stay connected to our students and families, making it possible for us to continue to teach, just in a very different way. And my own children are continuing to learn, which I am so grateful for as well. But at the core of all of this craziness, I still believe that relationships matter. Not only do they matter, they are the foundation of successful schools. They are what makes my classroom management, interventions and student growth possible. Relationships are what is making this virtual learning possible.

I was keeping my fingers crossed that we would be back together again before the end of the school year. However, I will start the new school year with a very different perspective about technology and it's power, as well as a completely reaffirmed belief that being with my students and the relationships we create throughout the year are the most important part of teaching.