1989
First day of school jitters are a very real thing. Especially for teachers. Especially when it's your first day of classes online, from home, in your kitchen, when you maybe didn't do all of the dishes last night and don't have time for them this morning.
That kind of weird energy is best accompanied by a Taylor Swift dance party so today I dusted off 1989 for the it's turn on the record player. It turned out to be the perfect choice. You can listen to this one to get into my musical head space for the rest of the post.
Classes went well??!!!??
I think.
I feel good about it. We talked about some important online learning things, went over the schedule and expectations, and then dove right into the Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations. Gotta set the stage for the rise of Hitler. The virtual classroom is great, albeit somewhat awkward. I can get through an entire lesson without being interrupted or losing my train of thought but the kids, predictably, don't use their cameras or microphones. It feels kind of like a really intense conversation with an imaginary friend reading their chat aloud and then answering the questions that you just posed to yourself. I'm sure I'll get to used to it though.
I miss my kids. All of them. But today I was especially surprised by the faces that floated into my mind while I was teaching. We care about all of our students. Deeply. But there are some that you just naturally form a bond with and I am especially energized by the relationship part of my job. Today though, I missed the quiet ones. The ones who don't speak up much but when they do it's with kindness and sweetness. The ones who won't tell me much about who they are in person but create beautiful artwork representing their identity, or write incredibly thoughtful pieces with a strong voice that makes it clear who they are. I find it easy to connect with the loud, funny, class disrupting kids so I have made a point this year of trying to form a more meaningful connection with my quieter students, and whether it's reciprocated or not, I really miss them today.
I miss the rest too, this just felt profound to me.
I'm actually feeling really good emotionally right now. I'm not scared or worried today, I'm not anxious. I'm happy, excited, energized. I credit this entirely to having a job to do again. This is definitely not because COVID 19 is getting any better. It's not. But this is because I get to teach and have something to work towards. It's also been so helpful to me to have some social interaction with team meetings.
Tomorrow is my first class with my new block of Humanities kids. I'm nervous. It's one thing to get on a camera in front of a bunch of kids that you already know, it's something totally different to do it with a group of kids who are already connected to another teacher and have no idea who you are. But it'll be nice to lose sleep over that anxiety tonight instead of the virus.
That kind of weird energy is best accompanied by a Taylor Swift dance party so today I dusted off 1989 for the it's turn on the record player. It turned out to be the perfect choice. You can listen to this one to get into my musical head space for the rest of the post.
Classes went well??!!!??
I think.
I feel good about it. We talked about some important online learning things, went over the schedule and expectations, and then dove right into the Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations. Gotta set the stage for the rise of Hitler. The virtual classroom is great, albeit somewhat awkward. I can get through an entire lesson without being interrupted or losing my train of thought but the kids, predictably, don't use their cameras or microphones. It feels kind of like a really intense conversation with an imaginary friend reading their chat aloud and then answering the questions that you just posed to yourself. I'm sure I'll get to used to it though.
I miss my kids. All of them. But today I was especially surprised by the faces that floated into my mind while I was teaching. We care about all of our students. Deeply. But there are some that you just naturally form a bond with and I am especially energized by the relationship part of my job. Today though, I missed the quiet ones. The ones who don't speak up much but when they do it's with kindness and sweetness. The ones who won't tell me much about who they are in person but create beautiful artwork representing their identity, or write incredibly thoughtful pieces with a strong voice that makes it clear who they are. I find it easy to connect with the loud, funny, class disrupting kids so I have made a point this year of trying to form a more meaningful connection with my quieter students, and whether it's reciprocated or not, I really miss them today.
I miss the rest too, this just felt profound to me.
I'm actually feeling really good emotionally right now. I'm not scared or worried today, I'm not anxious. I'm happy, excited, energized. I credit this entirely to having a job to do again. This is definitely not because COVID 19 is getting any better. It's not. But this is because I get to teach and have something to work towards. It's also been so helpful to me to have some social interaction with team meetings.
Tomorrow is my first class with my new block of Humanities kids. I'm nervous. It's one thing to get on a camera in front of a bunch of kids that you already know, it's something totally different to do it with a group of kids who are already connected to another teacher and have no idea who you are. But it'll be nice to lose sleep over that anxiety tonight instead of the virus.
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