This is the last post in a series on how I approach the work of teaching for this year. If you missed the first, second, third, or fourth post, check them out at their links.
Last Thursday, I sent off my 8th graders and watched them graduate from middle school, virtually, for the second time during this pandemic. For some, it was the first time that I saw them on camera all year! Our most stoic student’s very excited whole family attended on zoom — you could see balloons, posters, streamers, and best of all every single family member in the shot. It was a great reminder that behind every kid is a village. I’m reminiscent of the last time I was able to see my students off in person, which was two years ago. I miss seeing their faces, seeing my students with their friends and families, their reactions, the love, and the energy of being all together. I’ll miss not being able to hang out with these students in the cafeteria after the ceremony taking photos and chatting with students and families for the last time, telling them to come back and visit once they’re in high school. I even miss not being able to complain about how hot and humid the cafeteria gets by June!
Remote learning definitely got old toward the end of the year (probably way before) with teaching going until what felt like the bitter end of June. But, here on the last day looking back, I feel an immense gratitude that we still got to have a school year. What the psychologists say is true — while people tend to focus on the negative in the present, hindsight is often rosy*. I’m grateful to the people at my school who worked tirelessly to ensure that all students could get connected so that we as teachers could connect with them about our contents and more importantly, as people. Students and families trusted us and allowed us into their homes so we could engage in the work of teaching and learning. We had to find new ways of doing everything — from online discussions and group work to grading and how we assigned work. I’m grateful that the challenges of not being able to come together in person forced us to question our habits as teachers and find different or better ways engage all kids, build their independence, get them truly invested in what we were teaching.
There’s a lot that I learned this year that I can carry with me to next school year:
1. Kids are human. It might seem like “duh, of course kids are human,” but I cannot remind myself of this enough. When we look at a class of kids as names and grades on a roster, it’s easy to start seeing kids as numbers or sort them into categories. When a kid doesn’t do their work, or doesn’t follow directions day after day after day, it’s easy to categorize kids as “this is a kid who always does their work” vs. “this is a kid who never does their work.” Or, “this is a kid who follows directions” vs. “this is a kid who doesn’t follow directions.” They can easily become entities representing a collection of actions or outputs that don’t tell the larger story of who they are as people. During remote learning, this became “this is a kid who is always ready to unmute and share” vs. “this is a kid who never unmutes any time I call on them.” However, kids will often surprise you — so I always want to remind myself that kids are human, and they deserve the opportunity to be treated as such. Also, there’s so many factors at play that impact how a kid shows up to class that we don’t know about as teachers. Talking with them, listening, and not making assumptions about who kids are is something I will always carry with me.
2. Know who you are as a teacher and what you really care about. Oddly enough, I gained a lot more confidence as a teacher this year despite it being the most tumultuous school year anyone has ever had. Part of it was that this was the first time that I was no longer a first- or second-year teacher who was new to the profession (never have I been happier to be considered middle-of-the-road at something). More importantly, I think it was the time I spent before the school year started to consider and write down who I wanted to be, what I cared about as a teacher, and why I cared about these things. I also wrote up a vision for my classroom for the year. Because I was clear on the vision starting day 1, I didn’t have to think as much about individual teacher actions. Instead, my actions were driven by an effort to make my vision live. This led to a confidence and firm presence that I didn’t feel my other years.
3. Experimentation is the spice of this work. This should come as no surprise, given that this entire series has been about experimenting in the classroom in some way. Getting out of my comfort zone, trying a new way of teaching or engaging, and not being afraid to do something even when I felt like I didn’t have all the answers were the moments where I learned the most about my practice. They were also the moments that I enjoyed planning for and teaching the most because it was something new that kept me personally motivated to keep iterating and improving on what I started with in the beginning. At the beginning of my teaching career, I was so scared to deviate from the established way of doing something and scared that my classroom would be a mess if (when) I failed. Those risks will always be there, but this year showed me that it’s worth it.
4. Elevate student thinking. I’ve found that kids are the most bought in when the class is about them — their work and their ideas. I also find that in terms of math, kids have a much better access point when the new concepts that are discussed are grounded in a piece of student work that kids can ask each other questions about or explain to each other. Putting student work and voices at the center of each lesson is also an opportunity for the teacher to communicate trust in students’ abilities, celebrate their prior knowledge, make space to dig into mistakes when they come up, and cultivate more student ownership over the class. At the 8th grade level when kids care more about peer than teacher influence, these factors are key. Discussing work also allows students to practice producing clear written work, listening and responding to each other, clearly articulating their ideas, asking questions when something is unclear or when something requires further analysis, and collaborating.
5. Take care of yourself so you can take care of others. Teachers expend an insane amount of emotional energy to supporting students, caring for them, and helping them become the best versions of themselves they can be (as well as supporting each other!). This year especially, it felt like there were students where nothing worked to reach them. At best, they were black screens on zoom. At worst, they were completely absent. The job would not be sustainable for me if I didn’t tend to my own needs and wellness so I can bring my most patient and balanced self when I am in front of kids. It is not worth burning out early. I needed dinners, glasses of wine with friends, yoga, and time to myself to read or take a long shower to get myself through the long days.
That’s a wrap for this school year and the conclusion for this blog series. Thank you to those who have followed along and look out for a new series at the start of next school year in September!
*You should trust me on that because I was a psych major in college! Also, I’m too lazy to look up a link to attach.
