As we begin this year, it’s been tough. My school is doing a hybrid approach to going back into school. Monday is our all remote day, and I have Group A for two days and Group B for the other two days. So, while I am teaching my in-class group, I have to manage and prepare online work for the group that is working from home that day. We normally wear many hats as educators, but this year is a little bit more. Not only are we teachers, but technology integrators, cleaners, mask enforcers, nurses, therapists, and then whatever other role the day requires us to fulfill.
We normally wear many hats as educators, but this year is a little bit more. Not only are we teachers, but technology integrators, cleaners, mask enforcers, nurses, therapists, and then whatever other role the day requires us to fulfill.
These roles require different experiences and training, especially when it comes to technology. The kids in our classroom are growing up in an entirely different world than me. 20 years ago, I was in their seats as a 10 year old and technology was when we went to the computer lab full of heavy desktops or the teacher rolled in the bulky television strapped to a cart. With all of these changes, I have had to learn brand new interfaces and programs so that I can show my students how to use it. These kids have access to smart phones, text messaging, Google, their own personal laptops, and all answers at the click of the button.
These are all good things as technology is creating an amazing place for us to still be educators and have some sort “normalcy” while teaching remotely. We can see their faces at home, they are able to digitally create and turn in assignments, research, socially interact, and be students all from their laptops.
Technology has so much to offer my students and by continuing to integrating it, teachers can equip their students for a world that is constantly changing and evolving. Technology allows them to become problem solvers and inventors and dreamers.
That’s the thing about this COVID situation, you never know what is going to change. We, as a school, could be required to quarantine on Monday for the next 14 days and be required to teach and “keep everything normal” in a day’s notice. I am planning for these weeks ahead on a sink hole that could just give out at moment. It has been a lot to juggle and manage, but I know, just like the in the spring, I will figure this out and make this a great year for these kids.
A great year is what these students deserve. All of the rights of passage that normal kids get during their childhood — whether it’s graduation, field trips, concerts, projects, sports, the first day of kindergarten, sitting around a lunch table, or an unmasked smile in the hall — these kids are missing out. Hopefully this 6-feet-apart distance is not our new normal, but for now, it is.
The one thing I see as a positive in all of this is, I believe these new experiments of teaching at home, online, or with smaller groups in our classroom will totally revolutionize education as we know it. I do not believe we will be going back to where we were this time last year. Kids are growing up and learning in a tech world, and I feel so lucky to be learning how to manage and educate kids in this world that I was not trained in. Teaching is so much more than the ABC’s and 123’s. It’s about preparing these kids how to be kind, responsible humans that can take on this ever-changing world. That’s why I became a teacher.
Follow me on Instagram (@teachertalesofmisssmith) to join me on my adventure as a teacher this school year.