Struggling with uncertainty as an educator.
I’ve got more questions than answers.
That’s a tough place to be in as an educator and as a leader. As a classroom teacher I want to think I’ve got a good grasp on what I teach or at the very least a multitude of resources to help me learn what I don’t know. I think the same goes for me as a union leader. I know district policy and processes, I’ve read books on organizing, and I’ve got a pretty good group of people to lean on in my union to help if I can’t figure something out.
So when there isn’t an answer yet or when there is so much unknown...that’s where I struggle. I mean we probably all do but I think for educators the unknown and loss of control (and not control in a negative sense) is where we struggle. We plan our classes, we plan our questions, we plan for misunderstandings, and reteaching. We have a procedure for probably everything.
Needless to say, COVID-19 and reopening schools has me feeling lost. As a classroom teacher I can’t plan my courses yet because I don’t know if we’ll be totally in person, modified, or all online. Anyone of those changes might up end what classes I’m teaching, how many students I have in my room, and how I handle day to day normal activities in my class. As a leader, I’m usually the guy who has an answer or who can find an answer, or gather a group of people together to find or develop an answer. Right now there aren’t answers to find, theirs no policy, and although we are organizing meetings and scheduling zoom calls, there is a waiting period to get it all together.
So here’s what I’m doing to help deal with not knowing what’s coming next.
Take care of my health: I’ve been running 3-4 times a week. It’s a way to clear my head and not think about the start of the school year. I’ve also been doing a bit of yoga. The #teacher100 kick started my running during quarantine and I’ve been pretty solid about keeping it going since I first filled one of them up.
Embrace my passions: Mike and I talked about this on an episode of our podcast. We called it “What’s Your Punk?” What’s your zen, what’s that thing that kind of helps you relax or get out of your head. For me running is one of those but I also really enjoy music. So I’ll take some time out and listen to an album I really like. I also play guitar. It’s amazing how much better I feel after I turn it up and play along to some of my favorite albums or learn some new songs to play.
Learn something new: I remember I talked to a student during school closure and she was struggling with being stuck at home and not being at school. I told her to try learning something new like how to cook a new recipe or paint. Next time we chatted she said she learned how cook a couple new things for her family. For me I’m diving headlong into my second masters, which on the surface may seem like more stress but I’m really trying to embrace the new learning in it. I’m also listening to some new podcasts and reading some new books to open my mind up.
Plan for what I know I can change about next year: Regardless of how we go back next year, I know I want to get better at working with students who have experienced trauma and becoming better at being anti-racist in the classroom. So whether my classroom is online, in person twice a week, or face to face with kids everyday I want to get better at making it a place where kids feel safe, supported, seen, and heard. So I’m planning how to tackle my curriculum with a better justice focused and anti-racist focused lens. It won’t happen over night, it wont happen because I read a book or blog post. It’ll take work. So since I can work on that and maybe not on planning whether I’m going to be online teaching or not, I might as well work on what I know I can change.
This is the second blog I’ve posted with a list. I hope this doesn’t become a theme.
