Week 5: Survival Guidelines

This week at Indian Land High School we had our first staff meeting of the school year. Among the topics of conversation was the possibility of bringing students back for 5 days a week. Teachers were surveyed to get their thoughts on how we felt about returning to full-time classes. I was reassured that I was not alone in feeling very apprehensive about having 27 students in a mobile classroom at one time. Let's face it. Social distancing would not be an option. We do not know how this would affect our health, and well, I don't think this is a risk we need to be taking.

I don't get too fired up about policy decisions, surveys, and planning as I figure that whatever decision is made I can either conform or get out. Districts and administrators can put out all the surveys they want, but in the end, they are going to do what they are going to do. After this week's staff meeting I decided I would not let the things I cannot control bother me. Instead, I focused on the things I can do for myself and my students. I walked away with three guidelines.

Adjust Your Expectations. This year is different and we have to change what we expect out of our students. We've been told to be liberal with due dates and hold off on giving no credit as students are adjusting. But here's another thought. Teachers need to change their expectations for themselves too. We don't have to answer work emails on the weekends (I got an email Friday night at 10:54 pm). We don't have to assign mountains of work, only to have to grade it, as assigning more work for students doesn't mean more learning. There is nothing that we have to do (unless we are contractually obligated, of course). My point is, we are not holding students to the same standard that we would in an ordinary year, and we should go a lot easier on ourselves as well. Setting boundaries and establishing a solid work-life balance is essential. As a frequent impostor syndrome sufferer, this advice is challenging because my tendency is to over plan. However, by planning well and then accepting that I have given it my best is saving me from burnout. 

Don't Take Yourself So Seriously. I start every class by asking students how they are doing. Some days I get actual feedback! Recently a student let me know she was really struggling and that her mental state was a wreck. Girl, we all relate. Another student let me know that there's a new baby in the house that she is helping with. This reminds me that my class is not a top priority for some students and that no amount of fun and cutsie shit I put into it is going to help. I don't know if the students will ever get to the work assigned, but they are going to survive in life just fine without turning in an assignment. This is easy for me to say since there is little at stake with my class; there's no end-of-course exam, no big assessment at the end, no threat of not graduating if they do not pass, so I can see the eye rolls from other educators on this one. Bottom line for me is that just because I think my class is awesome doesn't mean that others do and that is ok. It just is not that serious.

Be Kind to Yourself. In a shared discussion amongst my coworkers, we got a laugh at the advice to "take a mental health day" because in education taking a day off typically means much more work than if you were present (making schools prime spreading grounds for illness). This relates back to my first takeaway of adjusting our expectations. Since we are taking it easier on students, we have to use that same kindness on ourselves. Another weekend example: I am NOT doing school work on the weekend. Well, I am, but it is research that I love. I am not doing school work on the weekend. End of story. 

At the end of this school year, whatever it may look like, students will take away what they are supposed to take away, which is directly correlated with their abilities to adjust to being an online learner. Some students have been able to thrive in the hybrid/virtual/face-to-face model. Some have totally checked out. I would argue that this same thing would be happening despite the new learning model. 

One thing I know for sure is that I have to take care of myself in order to be the best teacher I can be. This, in turn, teaches my students to do the same. I accept that I have to do some things that I don't always want to do, but I have a choice of how I am spending my time. Teaching is my job, and I am treating it as such.