I can't believe we are still in this nightmare that started in March... I know I am not alone in my experience with all that has happened with schools, teaching and COVID-19. I am still trying to come to grips with the sudden changes last school year and the loss of so many experiences with last year's students ... "Just like that". :o(
I remember back to that weekend in March. I spent the weekend planning all of my lessons and was ready for the week. Students were supposed to be taking a benchmark. I was excited to see how much they had learned. Then Sunday of that weekend, "Stay at Home" orders in California were given... It was sudden... Just like that.... Notified by our Superintendent in an email.... Teachers were given that week to accept the new reality and to create a paper packet for (Phase 1) of "Distance Learning". In (Phase 1), our students were given packets with work for three weeks.... Students would work on the packet and turn it in at the end of (Phase 1). Teachers were responsible for daily student wellness checks.... I had 120 students. Trying to get a hold of students was the most difficult part... (Phase 1) lasted three weeks....
The "Stay at Home" orders in California continued... We now had to plan for the next three weeks, (Phase 2). In (Phase 2) we were now switching to all digital "Distance Learning"... Our amazing tech department managed to get Chromebooks and/or Wifi to students who didn't have them. 8th Grade Math decided to continue the learning of new concepts, in hopes to help prepare them for high school.
For the digital learning lessons, I decided to make weekly Google Slides to guide the students through the daily lessons. My slides were very methodical and structured. Because students were working in a self-paced manner and were logging in at different times, it was important that the students could work through the slides on their own. The slides had videos made by us explaining the concepts, and activities to practice the concepts. I would check in with my students regularly through GoGuardian, I would do chat in Google Slides to help the students if they were stuck. Students would message me on Hangout for help.... I tried to do class Zoom meetings, but it never worked out because students were always on a different times.... Again, the hardest part was the regular student wellness checks and trying to contact students who were not checking in or doing work..... I reflected at the end of (Phase 2) and realized that the way this all happened was not ideal in any way, but on the bright side, students who were logging on, watching the videos and doing the practice were learning. We continued this process for (Phase 3), which lasted the last five weeks of school.
Not only was the every day teaching different, so many things were different when we went to distance learning. We did all of our weekly staff meetings through Zoom..... We did our weekly PLC Meetings through Zoom.... My department actually met in a lot of "On the Fly" Zoom meetings each week to help each other cope and to have some sort of normalcy. There were so many missed experiences. There were no end of the year activities. No yearbook signings, no graduation, no spring carnival, no CAASPP summative test....
Ending the official school year was the most difficult part. Teachers were not allowed to go onto the campus during this entire time. I hadn't been to my classroom for months. We were finally allowed on campus for a couple of days to clean our rooms at the end of the school year.... This was an experience I would not wish on my worst enemy. The custodians had already started summer cleaning the rooms before teachers were allowed back on campus.... When I got to my classroom to pack up my stuff for the summer, I realized they had already piled all of my classroom stuff into the corner to clean the carpets.... They not only piled all of my classroom furniture, they piled all of my stuff... My papers, books, teaching supplies, my plants... everything. It took me hours to pick through the pile to get all of my materials and personal items to pack away for the summer.... Not an ideal way to pack my classroom and end the year... :o(
Summer officially came.... Leaving me mentally exhausted and left with a lot of unknowns about the next school year... I tried taking a mental break from all things school related, but was not able to escape the horrible reality unfolding every day.... I have been at home for so long, I don't even know what month it is any more.... All I can say is that so far I am surviving the "New Normal".... Wondering when the"Old Normal" will be back...
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog post... Stay safe....
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