Building In Opportunity

With each passing day, I am becoming more and more convinced the chance for great opportunity to grow, expand, and improve teaching and learning lies within our current reality and beyond. As I mentioned in my post yesterday, this process has seemed to reveal practices and beliefs that are either "not as important" as we thought, still important but malleable, or downright unnecessary.

For starters, it's been amazing to witness my students' energy, enthusiasm, yearning for, and pliability towards learning. An old adage within the profession is that the students are always better at transitions and adapting than the adults (as a middle school teacher, this truth is bears out every year). I ache for the kids who thrive on social interaction and whose learning styles help them excel in a social school setting. I worry for the kids who may already struggle with mental health, students who have difficulties with organization and executive functioning, and students whose learning struggles were evident while at school and surrounded by resources. I feel terribly for seniors who can't finish out their high school careers among peers; 5th graders who may not get that chance to formally close the chapter on elementary school; and for spring sport athletes who may not get a season at all. But, with all that said, the students continue to amaze...they complete work, email questions, attend virtual class sessions, etc. Whatever we do with teaching and learning, the lesson is to never see the students as any kind of roadblock or hindrance...rather, they need to be at the center of planning and purpose.

Additionally, my colleagues have proven to be nothing short of fantastic through all of this! Veteran teachers who maybe weren't on the forefront of tech integration have worked incredibly hard to not only survive but thrive. Our district technology leaders have been AWESOME on a daily basis. Admin have worked tirelessly to support staff, students, and families while keeping the school community connected and optimistic. Special Ed, EL, Case Managers, and Paraprofessionals have all shown creativity and dogged determination in helping make sure ALL students feel supported and successful during this time. Our district Media Specialists have built and offered amazing opportunities for students of all ages to meet their learning needs and also enrich & extent their thinking.

I don't know if some of what I rambled about in yesterday's post would ever come to fruition...it was simply one teacher's thoughts around what an "ideal" day of learning might look like. There are realities around budgets, staffing, etc. But what I do know is that this crisis will force innovative thinking, problem solving, and pragmatic planing going forward. The smart thing - if one cares about what our future might look like - is to make sure one's voice is heard. After all, some things will be different...we might have a chance to really reshape some of what we do. If you never give an opinion or thought about it, it'll be tough to complain once we're "back to business."