I work as a 7th grade ELA teacher in the Parkway School District in the suburbs of St. Louis. Currently, all Missouri schools have been closed for the rest of the school year. What it looks like to be a teacher has drastically changed over the last 7 weeks. I now spend 4 to 5 hours during the day on my computer and then reply to emails from students and parents off and on all evening. The only real "downtime" I have is after 10 pm when we are asked not to send emails anymore.
Are we being effective?
I am not sure that this type of teaching is effective, and I wonder everyday if my students are actually learning anything. I know that we must continue moving forward, however, I think that making connections with our students during this time is the only thing that truly feels important. As adults, there are a lot of us struggling with our emotions during this time. We must consider that if adults are feeling this way, our kids must be feeling much of the same, but might be unable to communicate their feelings to others. Supporting the mental health of our students should take priority over whether they are mastering their grade-level standards. Our district has worked hard to send out numerous resources to support our students mental health and well-being. I am proud to be a part of the district as they address what is most important to us moving forward.
Students: The Reason We Teach
The reason I love teaching (and almost all other teachers) is the connection to students. While eLearning, we are not able to make those connections or share funny moments with each other. I saw a post on social media when this all started from a teacher mourning the loss of her favorite time of the year. She was so completely and totally right. The end of the year is the best time to be in a classroom. Students and teachers finally really know each other, can share jokes, and relax a little bit. It is the excitement of spring and upcoming summer break. We have lost all of that and teachers, along with students, are grieving. We need to cut students a break during this time. Let's check in with them to see if they have all their physical and mental needs met, and then let's do some fun activities to keep students engaged with us as long as we can. Teaching as usual is not going to work and the teachers who think they must finish the unit on Ancient Greece or multiply fractions are losing sight of what is really important in the world today.
My eLearning Philosophy
I hinted at it above, but I have made a 180 turn when it comes to my teaching philosophy during this shutdown. I used to think that students must master our priority standards before moving on to the next grade, but now I realize that there are things that are more important. Instead my assignments have focused on keeping people connected and loved. We spent 1 week writing letters to friends and family and then mailing them. The students loved it and loved receiving letters back from grandparents or friends. It is pretty rare to get a handwritten letter in the mail anymore, so I wanted students to give someone they love a reason to smile during this time. We have also been talking about the books that we are reading and connecting with others on Goodreads in order to share their reading. This has been a great way to show students how readers in the real world share their love of books and reading. I am still "teaching" my students, but my focus is no longer on the standards, but on the well-being of my students and building their love for reading and writing.
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