I have at least that many things to say on a given day, but often the blog remains eerily silent.  Sometimes months and weeks go by and I haven’t put down a single word.  No remembrance of this very important time, no tips on how to survive, no humor…just silence.

Where am I in the midst of this pandemic?  I am squarely in the middle ground.  I wear my mask, we see friends outside, we have ventured into stores, we have taken a less risky vacation, we are still healthy and still equally worried.

The great in person/remote learning school debate, hits a little more closely to home than it may for others.  I am trying to digest it on multiple levels.  Who or what do I prioritize?  Myself, my own family, or my students?  What is best for one group won’t necessarily be best for the other.  I don’t even know what to root for anymore.

My wish for in person school doesn’t come in the way that I wish it would.  It comes with so many precautions, that the way I would be instructing would be flipped upside down.  I teach almost entirely in small groups, with movement, shared supplies, collaboration, and I am physically very present and hands on. Can I still be an effective teacher as I stand at the front of the room with everyone at desks?

The answer, I will learn to be.

Remote learning keeps us safer, less at risk but I worry about missing relationship building.  Creating a bond and building on trust with my students is so important.  I worry that I won’t have the time to balance my own teaching while still supporting my own children.

Again, the answer is that I will figure it out.

I have learned that wishes and hopes for now will be pushed to the side.  Disappointment will become regular and health will become our main focus.  We are doing this to stay healthy and to keep those around us healthy as well.  School will be different no matter what.  While it won’t be ideal, I promise to still work as hard as ever to connect with my students and to make this time as “normal” as possible.  We are all in this together so let’s continue to support and encourage each other in the best ways we can.