My school year is basically ending this week.
Teaching online school has been... A lot of things. It often felt exhausting and chaotic, but my students, co-workers, and I held on and got through it. I constantly wondered how effective my colleagues and I were being. However, it's the last week of classes and my students are still doing assignments and showing up for their regularly scheduled video conferences, so I think we did all right. I think my team and I provided structure, connection, and meaning during a critical time when that was what was needed most. I'm just sorry the school year had to end this way.
My students did so well this year.
They came in timid and full of deficits in many basic study skills. So basically, they were normal middle schoolers. ;) The academic and social-emotional growth I saw this year was incredible. Some days were really hard, but the year was fun. I hammered the basics (math, reading, and writing) and taught them about other important things like manners, hygiene, and Gardner's Multiple Intelligences theory. My classroom was a place where they knew they could take a break if that's what they needed. I respected them and they respected me. I knew we had established positive working relationships when I realized how clean everyone was leaving my classroom every day.
I did so well this year.
I jumped back into the classroom full-time for the first time since my years of trying to conceive and enduring fertility treatments. Technology had changed a lot, but human behavior stayed basically the same. And that's true for both students and co-workers, haha. I enjoyed teaching and I loved getting to know my students. I liked eating lunch with my friendly co-workers every day. There were a lot of stressful days and tons of awesome moments. Overall, I am happy to be moving on, but this will be one of those special years that I will always remember. I learned it is possible (and not hurtful) for me to work extensively with kids again.
🏆💜
Congratulations!!! To you, and to your students. You did great, under difficult circumstances. And reading your last sentence made me smile. Yes!
ReplyDeleteIt's relieving to learn I can work extensively with kids again. That's where all my experience is and that's where I feel my gifts are.
DeleteMajor congratulations! This online teaching thing is not ideal, to put it mildly. I'm glad your kids are showing up, and doing the work, and connecting through this. That structure and predictability is so key, because yeah...they do miss it. I have middle schoolers too and they were so sad because they're 8th graders and missed all the things that are perks -- the DC Trip, the 8th grade Luau... the final yearbook of middle school... it sucks so much. We have at least 4 more weeks to go, so it's great to have an endpoint in mind, and just keep swimming and trying to make this as positive an experience as possible.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your last sentence. I LOVE that this was a great year for you, where you did amazing things with your kids and nurtured all parts of their whole child. At that age the emotional and character part is so important. (And HYGIENE! One plus of online learning, ha ha ha, the BO doesn't make it through the screen...)
Congratulations to you!
Thank you! From one special education teacher to another, you WILL survive this online school trial-by-fire experience and you ARE having a positive impact on your students during this time. I promise. <3
DeleteThank you! Holy moses it cannot end soon enough. I miss regular school so much, this is just exhausting and less than awesome. But yup, good to be there for our kids in this bizarre time! Happy summer...
DeleteCongratulations! That last sentence is everything. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you loribeth. It's a celebration indeed!
Delete