Teaching through a Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of our lives. For me, this past year will probably be the most challenging one that I will ever experience in my teaching career (and this was only my third year). Remote teaching to start the year forced us to make huge shifts in our practices (and quickly). Teaching both hybrid and remotely towards the end of the year was like teaching two entirely different classes back-to-back. It often felt like survival, needing to focus on one day or even task at a time. Adding onto these feelings, we had worries about our own health and safety in our homes and families, as well as our staff, students, and families. 

Everyone - school staff, students, and families - had to survive the year in any capacity that we could offer. I truly appreciate my students for their positivity, focus, and adaptability. They are amazing five and six year olds who learned how to behave in a remote setting which meant taking turns to speak, dealing with technical difficulties (e.g. patiently staying on the call when I disconnected), navigating video call functions independently ("___, click on your microphone, please!" or "Click on the red button to leave and come back!"), listening through distractions, and carrying conversations with me and others - just to name a few. We were able to build a strong and loving classroom community despite our circumstances, and every student showed growth in their confidence and academics. We were even able to engage in thoughtful discussions around social justice, racial equity, and current events throughout our months together.

I am grateful for my students' families for their communication and support.  It was a team effort to make sure that our children had the best experience possible for such a unique kindergarten year. ​​I owe it to my families for their understanding with the limits of teaching kindergarteners remotely, yet having trust in that what I was doing was contributing positively to their child's education. 

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Through teaching in a pandemic, here are some of my takeaways from this year: 

• Students learning in-person is where they truly belong. They need that time and space to socialize, and build experiences and memories with their class and teachers that you cannot achieve through a screen and with limited shared resources across our homes.
• ​Children are resilient. I was worried if the students would be able to connect with me through their tablets and if they would be able to focus and retain information. They exceeded my expectations - their curiosity for school, their class and teachers outweighed the hardships and barriers of learning remotely. 
• ​When times get tough, always have grace for yourself. More than any other year, I had to remind myself that I was doing the best I could and that was enough. There are some things I cannot control, and some more things that I could be doing, but everything will work out somehow in the end. As long as my students were growing and having fun in their learning, building confidence in themselves, and feeling safe and heard, I have achieved my job. 

Next school year will be interesting to say the least, as it is looking like all students will be expected to return to school in-person. For now, we can finally take a break and have a fresh start in the fall. What a huge weight off of our shoulders. We are coming out of this stronger.