In the past, I’ve enjoyed sitting down at the end of the school year to tap out some reflections on the year that’s gone by. What’s gone well? What can be adjusted? What have I learned? What have my students learned?
It feels very different doing that this year. Honestly, I’m not sure how to answer some of those questions. I know some things that have gone well or not, and I’ve realized some important ideas about my teaching style. But without clarity on how the 2020-2021 school year will shape up, it’s difficult to answer all of those questions completely and with clarity.
When I think about pre-March, which seems so long ago, the school year had gone pretty close to form. There were some ups and downs, but the weather hadn’t been terrible, and most of the kids were showing some progress. I tried a few new ideas, such as 20Time projects with some of my honor students, where we took every Friday to work on a passion project. Just like any new idea, there were some parts that worked and others that need adjustment if I want to do them again in the future.
The last few summers, I have taken some weeks to put some creative writing in this space. Students will give me the first line and last line of a story, and I have to fill in the middle. I’m planning on that again, but I thought one set of lines fit better into this column since it’s non-fiction. Grace Borchert gave me this for a first line: This year, my 8th grade Honors English class was absolutely marvelous, and let me tell you why!
It’s hard to make a fictional story since that’s true. This was a group of young people I had in 7th grade as well, and I knew, based on that year, we could achieve some great things this year. This was a group I had tried some new ideas on, and they ate up new concepts without a complaint, eager to try something different. When I ran across the 20Time idea, I knew this would be the group to try it; even if it wasn’t perfect, they’d help me highlight flaws in the delivery and would still go 100% the whole time.
I was right. I’ve taught for 24 years now, and this group of soon-to-be freshmen has rocketed to the top of favorite groups of students. Yes, teachers have favorites: those who work hard, ask for help, and strive to get better. The mixture of personalities also made these 8th graders fun. They were a unique blend and made 1st hour a great start to every single day.
Even while in quarantine, I knew this grouping would do their work and show me some impressive assignments. I was right. Everyone did all their work, and I read some simply incredible stories that they spent a lot of time on. I’m very pleased to have had the chance to teach them for two years.
Grace’s last line she furnished me: This is why my 8th grade Honors English class was amazing and I hope to see them next year! There you have it. Unfortunately, the only time I might see them next year will be in the halls or if they stop by to visit. But I know they’ll do fabulous things in high school.
But that leads me back to some of my initial questions. It wasn’t always easy to figure out what my students learned during distance learning. There were plenty who asked questions and sought help virtually, but looking at some of the work, especially as the lockdown dragged on, led me to worry about what we’ve missed by not being with our students all the time.
Here’s an example that relates a little. When a student misses a week of school, whether it’s for a severe illness, a death in the family, or a vacation, it can be difficult to get them caught up. If we went over new concepts in class, that means we need to spend some one-on-one time together to teach that.
Now picture two months of that. Sure, we had weekly (or more often) lessons, but it’s not quite the same without proximity. It’s tougher for many to focus while looking at a person on a screen while their siblings are running around or their dog jumps in their lap.
Here’s a vision I have of school in the fall. I really think it should be parent choice on whether or not your child is in school, but regardless, it seems unlikely that I’ll have my entire class every day to start. In that case, those who are at home should still join us virtually, so they can learn at the same time as everyone. I can teach my class in front of my room while those at home see me through our online meeting space.
Along with this goes the idea of recording those sessions. Maybe I should always start recording myself teaching and going through important ideas. That way, if a student is gone, they can still watch the video and get all the important concepts I taught originally. It might be tricky to figure that all out, but after this spring of education, I feel like teachers are ready for any challenge.
I truly hope the state gives schools the flexibility to do what works for them. New Richland is different from Owatonna is different from Duluth is different from Minneapolis. I hope, too, that our administration and school board will listen to teachers and paras for our ideas in shaping those plans. Anyone might have some keen insight that could help all of us.
Time to put 2019-2020 behind us. I look forward to another year, yearning for normalcy, but expecting chaos. Have a great summer!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is heteroclite, which means deviating from the normal rule, as in, “The heteroclite school year featured an ending like no other.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!