This will be the year….

The 2020-21 school year will be unlike any other.  Some of us started in distance learning. Some of us spent an extra week preparing and now find ourselves juggling hybrid.  Some of us have worn a mask for full days of teaching, continually spreading out our desks and spending our own money on Clorox wipes.  While there’s much that we probably miss about our previous normal, it will be important to consider all that we will gain this year and what we need to let go.

This will not be the year to do it ALL for our students.

This will be the year to teach students how to be independent. Think of all the skills students can learn this year. They are going to learn to prioritize, organize, ask for help and advocate for themselves.  We will need to support them in learning these skills, but this won’t be a year where we can see a student struggle and intervene.  This will be the year where students will rise to the occasion.

This will not be the year to work solo.

This will be the year to learn from and with each other. We need each other more than ever to lean on for support, strategies, relief. We need to share, borrow, give and take. We can’t do this alone.  Reach out to the education twittersphere and follow the hashtags: #mtbos and #iteachmath.  Or use google to find ideas Quadratic Formula.

This will not be the year to teach all the concepts.

This will be the year we prioritize with laser-like focus on the skills and the bigger picture. This is the year to ask yourself what’s really important in your classes.  What content will most benefit your students in the future and what concepts will circle back around in future years and we can let go of for now.

This will not be the year to lose our health.

This will be the year we must take care of ourselves first. Turn off the computer. Go for a walk.  Call a friend you haven’t stayed in touch with. Now more than ever we need to take care of ourselves before we can take care of each other.  Put your own oxygen mask on before assisting others.

While there are days I miss the buzz of the classroom, the goofiness of teenagers, the energy of a lunch with colleagues, I’ve found I need to find a way to embrace the things we will learn teaching in this new, temporary normal, find the joy in the new memories we will make, and never forget that the connections with the students and each other are what make this job worth doing.