Friends,
I have been drowning in computer screens and Google Classroom pages and hyperlinks and instructional videos. I am desperate for a major technology detox, can I get an amen?
Now don’t get me wrong, I want to do everything I can to be the best virtual teacher. Yet the sheer volume of it all — managing teaching and home-life and other miscellaneous stressers — can be debilitating. The trickiest part of thriving under these circumstances (at least for me), is the wonky balancing act that we’re all facing. I’ve been wrestling with this question for weeks: how can I strike the just-right balance for myself as a virtual teacher and my kids as virtual students? Here are a few principles to consider:
Put your face front and center — in short videos, pictures posted on Google Classroom, and in virtual Hangouts. The kids need to know we’re still here.
We shouldn’t fret if they don’t show up. Like us, these kids are juggling an awful lot right now — from home — and many (especially the teens) are doing so with very little structure in place. Most school districts are beyond blessed to have many layers of support staff. I’ve learned to lean into these folks — our SPED colleagues, EL teachers, paraprofessionals and secretaries. If I haven’t heard from a kid or can’t reach his or her parent, I send their name along to our staff. Together, we’ll make sure the kids are doing okay and are fully supported. I can’t carry the burden alone. We can’t be everything for every kid in normal circumstances, and we surely cannot in these unusual times.
Assign a reasonable work load. Teams of teachers in our school district have worked hard to design impactful, essential, and engaging lessons that won’t bog our students down. As a parent of a kindergartener, I am grateful for this wise approach.
If you’re like me and asking yourself, “am I doing too much or not enough?” take a deep breath… your students know you care and that’s what matters most.
Stay strong; we got this,
Lindsay