Let's refocus ourselves and our sense of purpose

     I realize that I am perhaps too new at teaching to have much clout on this topic, but I do know what it is like to change gears. I went from being a manager of people, of the flow of goods into and out of a building, to a middle school teacher, where I am now a manager of people, of the flow of papers in and out of the turn in basket, and making sure punches aren't thrown between barbs and raised voices. 

    Surprise! 2020, COVID-19, and in March the world came to a screeching halt. Fall 2020 and we are still online. I teach social studies to 6th graders. I am transitioning students from elementary to middle school in one of the top diverse schools in the nation. We are a Title I school where my students come to me with very little online knowledge outside of TikTok or video games. 

    We are realizing, that at least for this year we have to recalibrate. We have to hit the breaks on expectations, of the year, of the lessons, and of the students. Not give up on our lessons, on our students, or the year, but re-look at how we provide them and what our expectations should be. Our idea of success is so different when we are lucky to get participation and having to explain a concept online, through a shared screen is the status quo. It is so tough to make it through, and so we must adapt. We must recalibrate what our expectations are, of the students, of our lessons, and of ourselves. What is important right now? How can we teach to that? How do we reach our audience? How do we connect when we can't see our students faces or hear their voices (unless they decide to unmute)?

    I challenge anyone reading this, let's answer these questions. Let's try and reconfigure ourselves. Instead of the minute details of the lessons, let's work on foundational skills. Instead of coming up with complicated projects, let's talk to our students. Maybe the answers are having more group work (class wide), or having various levels of an assignment. We need to relook at why we are still teaching. I have heard so many teachers comment on liking online school, not because of the students, but because they are afraid of getting ill. They are afraid of going live again. If that is you, I challenge you to look at why you chose teaching. Who are you doing this for? Is that passion still there? If it isn't, by all means find your passion/interest. If you are still interested in your students, maybe we just need to work on what we are doing, how do we update our topics for online consumption, with the kids today?