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I’m supposed to go to a Zoom cocktail party with my high school colleagues (not students!) in about two hours. I’m thinking I’m gonna skip it. I’m all Zoomed out today.
I was on Zoom for a staff meeting from 8am to 9am, then on Zoom with the 12th grade team from 9am to 10am, then I had class on Zoom from 10am to 12pm, but I left early so I could go to the Zoom with our 12th graders from 11:30am to 12:30pm. After that, I Zoomed LT and my friend K while I ate lunch.
If no one says “Zoom” again for the rest of the weekend, I will be okay with that.
Furthermore, you can see from today’s word count that I haven’t written a blinkin’ word; however, I did finish one of my final projects for grad school today, which was a 21-page paper that I was revising from 6am until my staff meeting at 8am.
Now it is 3:40pm. I have spent the past hour playing video games because I feel a little blehhhhhhhhhhh. I was supposed to Zoom with LT again to do yoga (it’s been raining all day, so I haven’t been able to get in my walk or run or walk-run), but honestly I think I’m done. For the rest of the afternoon,
Public Service Announcement: You can watch a big chunk of HBO’s library for free right now
I think I’m just going to veg out in front of the TV with something stupid and that will make me laugh.
I really want to laugh right now.
And even though I’m addicted to the soothing tones of Judy Woodruff’s voice on PBS Newshour, I’m not honestly sure I’m up for the news tonight. We shall see.
In case you’re wondering, here’s what I’ve learned this week about distance learning.
1. Teachers are amazing.
Teachers work so frickin’ hard for this country’s kids, y’all. As a nation, we basically just told our teachers, “For the next three months, you need to continue to educate the country’s children, but without any of the established tools, routines, schedules, and expectations you usually use. Oh — and in fact, we want you to learn all new tools, routines, schedules, and expectations. And we want you to do it… yeah, like right now.”
And gosh darn if the teachers haven’t done it, even though they are just as stressed out as everyone else. But I’m seeing so many teachers who don’t know the first thing about distance learning genuinely working hard to turn themselves into experts overnight, and they do it because they love the kids and want the best for them.
2. Yeah, but some teachers… Umm…
Look, I’m absolutely not passing judgment here. I know that some teachers are understandably overwhelmed, and on top of that, many of them are also parents, or caring for an aging parent, or are just simply as stressed out and nutty right now as the rest of us.
But while LT, me, and dozens of others of teachers I know have been scrambling hard to figure out how we’re going to reinvent K-12 education for the next few months, there are other teachers, like LT’s son’s teacher, who are literally just giving parents a few website links and saying, “Have at it!”
I really and truly don’t blame them. It’s hard to become an expert overnight. But I also don’t blame the parents (or the kids) who feel frustrated when their teacher does this to them.
The vast majority of teachers are doing amazingly well. But a few others… I know it’s hard, guys, but let’s step it up and rise to the occasion. It’s what the kids need from us right now.
3. The host can access your private chats in Zoom.
Uh.
Wish I would have known that when graduate school started last year. My chat history might have looked a little different. 😐
4. Teaching middle school P.E. online is a head-scratcher.
Speaking of reinventing education overnight. K is a middle school P.E. teacher, and I was asking her how exactly you teach P.E. online. K seems as puzzled as I was. She set up Google Classroom, which she’s never had to do before, put up a couple assignments, and then posted videos of workouts the kids could try. What else can she really do beyond that?
5. Though most of them won’t admit it, the kids miss us as much as we miss them.
Teenagers are little boogers. I want to strangle them sometimes. I love them, of course, but I also want to strangle them.
They feel the same about us, even though they won’t necessarily say so. It was clear, in meeting with our kids today, how much they missed the routines of school and their peers… and maybe us… a little. LOL. My twelfth graders on Zoom were behaving like fourth graders, full of giddy, happy energy at seeing everyone’s face. Even as I write about it now, it’s making me smile.
6. And apparently, schools around the country are looking to increase the size of their long-term substitute pool for the 2020/21 school year.
Fun fact I learned from my professor today: With so many teachers stuck at home, bored, for weeks upon end, and given that about 75 percent of teachers are still female, schools are anticipating a LOT of maternity leave requests in 7 to 9 more months.
LOL!
I hadn’t even thought about that! (Are you surprised it hadn’t crossed my mind?) But yeah, according to my professor, school districts like Los Angeles Unified, where she has a connection, are legit starting to quietly prepare for one of the largest baby booms in history.
But anyway. Wasn’t I saying something about wanting to sit in front of a television and laugh for what remains of the day?
Oh, this rain, it will continue…
Thank goodness the rain is supposed to break tomorrow. I can’t take much more lack of sun. I’m going to turn into Edward Cullen or something.
And on the note of rain, I leave you with a song and many well wishes…
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