Every year, I look forward to KySTE's three day spring conference at the Galt House in March. While there was a bit of a rumble over the slowly accelerating COVID-19 situation in the United States ("pandemic" was not quite the commonly used phrase, much less "crisis"), KySTE reassured everyone that the conference was still happening, albeit with advice to replace hearty handshakes with waves and wash your hands often. I assembled like hundreds of others to the conference's first day on Wednesday, March 11. There was talk about non-traditional instruction days (NTI) and students learning from home possibly happening as early as the following week, so I attended sessions with a focus on content-specific digital learning tools. By the morning of March 12, KySTE organizers were putting down rumors of an early end and still reassuring that the conference was continuing. By that same afternoon, in the second to last session of the day, they broadcasted a message: the conference was cancelled. We met for a hastily convened closing session, where door prizes were given out in 15 minutes, and promises were made to announce award and grant winners at a later date. A few hours later, I checked out of the hotel and on a whim, stopped by a grocery store on the way home, where I purchased the last packages of paper towels and toilet paper sitting on the shelf. The next day -- aptly enough, Friday the 13th -- I went to my Shelby office for final meetings and planning as we launched, along with so many other districts (and states!), the longest and most ambitious educational NTI plan in modern American times. I have not been back to my office, or seen my colleagues in person, since.
That was just two weeks ago, and yet it seems like a lifetime.
We are still very much in the beginning of a long term, once in a generation struggle that affects every aspect of our human life. It is overwhelming to think of the potential loss of life and the what-if's to come. So in this entry, I will try to only narrow my focus on the educational road ahead. I myself have overused the words "unprecedented" and "uncharted waters" these last few weeks, so I'm loathe to repeat them. But this is an unprecedented time to be a teacher. It is uncharted educational waters. What can we do?
Breathe.
It is clear that despite anyone's best efforts, the school year 2019-2020 will be disrupted. We have to allow ourselves grace. We will not hit all of our objectives. NWEA MAP tests, if we could even give them, might not reflect much "academic growth." And that is okay. It will become evident that we cannot maintain virtual schools for millions of students for weeks on end without consequence -- and that's not only okay, it's affirming! Of course we are facilitators of learning, but we are also relationship managers, inspirational guides, growers of human potential. We analyze body language, listen to stomachs growl, feel the energy of students as they connect to content. In short, teaching is a complex art, and difficult to do at a distance. If teaching was as simple as pushing a worksheet across a table -- well then, anyone could do it. Ask any parent who is social distancing at home right now with their children if teaching is easy.
So breathe. Students are still learning, in authentic ways we could not begin to fathom or calculate. Let your students know you are there, that you were always were there, that you will be there after all of this is over and all that remains will be the remembrances of the kindness and sympathies you gave to them in a time of uncertainty and sacrifice and tragedy. That is a lesson they will remember. They will remember you. The rest will work itself out in the months to come.
The very real tragedies and sacrifices aside, there are some positive "truths" to emerge out of this disruption to the status quo of education:
- Necessity is the mother of invention, and teachers are being more innovative with digital tools than ever before because they have to be. If even a small portion of that blended learning experience (and other innovative pedagogies that challenge traditional instruction) comes back to the brick and mortal classroom, education will be better for it.
- We need to stop talking about digital inequity and start solving it. In other countries, Internet access is just another utility that all citizens have, like water and electricity. This crisis clearly reveals that high speed Internet in every household is not a luxury but a necessity.
- Public education needs to be fully funded and supported. If there was ever a question about the enormity of services that public school provides as a social safety net, it should be easily answered now. What organization besides public school systems could so quickly have marshaled resources like technology, educational materials and food for the general good? (This is not to disparage the efforts of our private, charter and parochial educational colleagues, but it's merely reporting the facts about the enormous power, effort, and reach of public schools.)
- Last but not least, technology is best when it serves the objective of personal human connection. I am astounded and inspired from social media posts at all the ways teachers are using tech to foster continuity, engender hope, ignite excitement, and share a smile. Learning should always be engaging, but not in absence of addressing the individual passions and needs of each student.
As I wrap things up, I want to offer two NTI resources for educators in these (here I go) unprecedented times.
#KyGoDigital invited me to lead an online session as part of their #MyNTIKy series. I discussed virtual field trip resources and strategies on how to use them. The video is here (38:16):
You can access the Slides from the presentation here.
Several people have asked for our Shelby NTI resources. While I've curated them (quality over quantity was my mantra), I have to thank many district staff members for their input and submissions, and I hope to have put the tools and sites in some sense of context rather than just reproduce a list of links. Here is our Doc.
While I'm thanking SCPS people, I want to give a personal shout out to all of our Shelby admin, teachers, food service workers, custodians, technicians, counselors, and other support staff for their heroic efforts to keep our children fed, educated, and safe these last two weeks and in the weeks to come.
Last but not least, I want to thank all of my Edtech Elixirs readers over the years, not only for reading this particularly long post, but for reading any of my past ones! This entry marks my 150th blog post since I began nearly six years ago. To put it mildly, in the summer of 2014 I could never have predicted the state of education in spring 2020.
And speaking of spring! Next week, spring break begins for our district and for many others. I promise you I will try to breathe a bit. Promise me you will do the same.
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