If you had told me at the start of March this year that I would be writing lesson plans from my childhood bedroom before the end of the month, I would have called you crazy. To say that things did not go as planned this month is the understatement of the year.
Not only am I back in my childhood bedroom, I am writing lesson plans from the same desk that I used to complete my work as a homeschooler. I cried over math problems at the desk where I now record videos for my 7th grade students. I will explain in a moment just how exactly full circle that is in a moment.
Two weeks ago, when we started the school week, I thought everything was normal. Sure that virus thing was making its way around but I wasn't overly worried. I am young and otherwise healthy, and by all accounts the young and healthy have little to fear from this illness that claims the old and the sick. My students were more worried about end of term projects and why I still wouldn't let them practice karate in my classroom (one of the many joys of teaching middle school is all the odd things that come out of your mouth in a day, like "No you may not use your friend to practice head kicks in my classroom" but I digress).
The only hint of the chaos to come was that the week before, our school leaders had warned us that we might be switching to home learning if this virus thing got any worse. We were all given training and practical applications to use in the even that we would have to go to all online schooling for a few weeks while the virus blew over. Maybe I was just being overly optimistic that Monday morning, because the winds were about to shift in major way and I did not see it coming.
On Tuesday evening, it was announced that Wednesday would be our last at school learning day. That we would switch to all online at home learning for the next three and a half weeks (including spring break).
If you know a teacher, send them some chocolate because it is no small task rewriting lesson plans and criculam in and TOTALLY RESHAPING THE FACE OF SCHOOLING in just a few days time. I was lucky in the way to have supportive leaders who gave us help and pushed back grading deadlines but I still spent untold hours fighting with my lesson plans to make it something I could be proud of.
While you are at it, send those teachers some flowers because many of us are feeling personally and professionally disappointed with online learning. We have still so much to space to grow and many of us (including me!) are missing our students badly. I took my classroom for granted, thinking I would always have face time with my students each day only to have that one constant snatched away from me. I completely understand the decision to switch to online learning, and I don't really see how that switch over could have gone smoother, but that doesn't change the reality for teachers who just want to do our jobs. People don't go into education for anything short of the unbridled passion of teaching the love of learning and the love of life. I became a teacher to touch lives.And now, I feel like my greatest avenue to touching lives, my classroom, is lost to me for and undetermined amount of time. My school has announced that home learning will continue for the remainder of the school year.
So here I am, lesson planning from the desk I used to homeschool at. It is crazy that my homeschooling is now a help to me as I get to teach my students how to complete their work in a way that is very similar to homeschooling. I know what it is like to be confused by directions, so I make my lessons as clear to follow as possible. I know what it is like to struggle with grasping a new concept with having almost no experts to talk to, so I try and be available via email as much as possible to my students.
Technology is a life saver. Thankfully my students are well versed in using online tools and have even taught me a few things (that's how you know you are getting old, when they sigh and say "have you tried...?"). I am so grateful to the internet and online resources in this crazy transition time. I couldn't do it without them.While professionally things have changed for me, personally things have as well. I had plans to go to New Zealand with my sister over the March break. I had bought the plane tickets back at the start of October before we knew the world was going to fall apart. Then just 6 days before I was set to go, New Zealand announced a two week quarantine on all incoming visitors and nationals. Disappointed doesn't begin to encapsulate the emotions I had. I felt like I couldn't go one day without another world ending bit of news.
I started that week thinking it would be a normal school week and that I was going to New Zealand on March break, and I ended the week with online learning and buying tickets to go back to the states. I decided if the world was gonna go crazy for a bit, I would like to be in a country where language wasn't a barrier to getting good care.
So now I am in isolation in my childhood bedroom. I chose to self isolate for two weeks since I lived in Asia. Not leaving my room for five days has left me a little stir crazy to say the least. Now that we are on March break, I don't even have lessons to plan. At least not for a bit. So I decided to do something useful with my time and sew masks for the nursing home where my sister works. At least I can be of help in some way even as I practice self isolation.
And it isn't all bad. I have already finished two books and I have started three more. I have caught up with friends via video chat, and I have gotten to eat all the American foods I missed so much back in Indonesia.
As I watch the world shift almost daily, I rest in the idea that even though this is not what I planned, I am right where I a supposed to be.
-Rachael
