I was recently thinking about the week before holiday break last year, and several recollections came to mind:
a taco feast my teaching team enjoyed together at lunch
dozens and dozens of eighth graders, dressed in their ugliest Christmas sweaters, partying with cookies and milk
a whole family gathering at my mom’s house with a cheese board and laughter and joy
And then I compared those memories to the events of this week, and I actually had to take a moment to grieve.
The same week in December this year has been marked by the following:
working through lunch, again, because … 7,000 emails.
feeling a sense of accomplishment that I didn’t cry during week number two of our middle school’s hybrid model
staring at my lesson plans for January and smiling like a clown at the sight of 2021 on the calendar
What did this comparison achieve? I have no idea. What have I learned in 2020? It might take me a few days to talk it all through.
Distilling the events from this past year into one, concise lesson seems like a preposterous task. But I’ll give it a go. 2020 taught educators everywhere to try, try, and try again. We have done so many things for the first time this year. Some of our efforts have flopped, while other methods exceeded expectations. And sometimes, we’ve found ourselves staring blankly into space wondering what on Earth we’re doing. Nevertheless, we put aside yesterday’s failures and mishaps, show up each day, and try again. And on and on it goes. Every. Single. Day.
If a year ago someone would have told me that I would be simultaneously teaching half of my students in person while supporting the other half virtually, I would have bellowed with laughter. “Impossible,” I might have implored. Of course, I now know that I would have been wrong. Yes, it’s hard. Yes my first attempt stunk, and yes it needs constant tweaking. But, it is possible.
I’ve been pondering this quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt, “It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” That’s it. That’s what we’ve been doing. And we are all the better for it — humbled, stronger, more clever than we thought we were, and wiser, for sure.
At this time next year, I hope I remember this lesson and beam with pride.
Keep trying, my friends, and remember that goodness always prevails, even in a year like 2020.