Reflection of a COVID Year

 

Last week, a colleague stopped by my office and asked me if I realized that we were coming up on the year anniversary of when things turned upside down with the COVID-19 pandemic as it related to schools. To be honest, I hadn't really thought of it, but she reminded me that last year at this time (March 13, 2020), was when we were told that our school would be closed and we would continue with virtual learning for an indefinite amount of time. As soon as she said it, I immediately remembered the day and all of the conversations that people were having. As a school, we were being asked to pivot at a moments notice and figure out a way to educate our kids in a virtual format for the foreseeable future. We prophesied on how long we would be out of school, with many of us thinking that it would only be a short time before we were back to normal. Oh my! What a difference a year makes.

As my colleague and I talked about all the changes in the past year, I asked her, "As you reflect on this past year, do you feel as if you are a better person/teacher now?" Knowing this person well, I should have anticipated her answer and rephrased my question beforehand, but I didn't and she responded, "Well, I was already pretty freaking awesome, so I'm not sure that I could really get any better." We laughed, I agreed, and then we talked shop for a little bit before she left. After she left my office, however, I reflected on the question I had asked her and started thinking about my journey over the past year and where it has taken me. This reflection really gave me an opportunity to pause and see how far I've come in the #OwnYourEpic process and provided me insight into how much growth really did occur in the span of 365 days.

ZOOM UNIVERSITY

Prior to the pandemic, I had used ZOOM periodically (once a month) as a method to attend meetings that were either located in a different state or because the person I was meeting with wasn't going to be available for an in-person meeting. Since the pandemic started, however, I would venture to guess that I spend, on average, 2-3 hours per day in a ZOOM meeting of some kind (interviews, district meetings, professional development, department chair meetings, etc.). With such a big chunk of my day dedicated to this virtual meeting space, I have become a savant of sorts with the technology and found unique ways to incorporate it into my daily routine. I have seen increased parental engagement in parent/teacher conferences because they, along with teachers, can engage from the comfort of their own homes provided they have reliable internet connection instead of standing in long lines to have a face to face conversation. The tool has also been a lesson in patience for us all by forcing us to extend grace to others who may not be tech savvy and struggle with taking themselves off mute, having audio issues, understanding norms of video conferencing, etc. For some reason, we are more tolerant of people in a virtual setting than we are in other meeting format. This may have a lot to do with the fact that people are more inclined to multitask during ZOOM meetings and tune out to check email, text, or do other work while the ZOOM meeting is in progress, but nonetheless, there appears to be more tolerance. Ultimately, what I have found over the course of the last year is that there is no substitute for in-person meetings where I can engage with people, read their body language, and truly interact with them in a human way. In-person meetings typically take longer, but I am so over this "reality distortion field" that virtual meetings are the way of the future. They may become more commonplace, but for me, they will never take the place of actual meetings. I long for the day when we can all come together in person, for business and fellowship, and truly interact like we were intended to. Above all, this interaction will take place without a screen and camera in front of us.

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY

If anything was learned during this pandemic, it should be that there is no substitute for synchronous, in-person learning. Teachers and students need to be in the classroom with one another because there are just some things that can't be learned without face-to-face instruction. There is some debate on this, but I would argue that those that feel students can learn entirely online, haven't been in a classroom since they were in school and don't realize that a lot of education takes place in teachable moments that are spawned by classroom discussion and debate. If you don't believe me, I would offer up this analogy for review. I can read every book there is on becoming a surgeon and do thousands of hours in a virtual lab setting working on a cadaver. At the end of the day, would you want me to operate on you knowing that I haven't had guided practice from a professional who knows what they are doing and can work through unforeseen issues that may come up? It's a rhetorical question, but the answer is NO! The reality is that there has to be in-person instruction that takes place in order for a well-rounded education to be provided. The amount of in-person instruction is up for debate, but the pandemic has certainly taught me that virtual learning IS NOT for everyone and even for those that excel with it, they still need the guidance of teachers in an in-person formats. Schools are not obsolete, but the pandemic has given us an opportunity to utilize new tools that will make us better. Among the many opportunities that stand out, the flipped classroom, is a great opportunity to infuse synchronous and asynchronous learning so we can individualize education for more students and be more efficient with our time. I have seen so many teachers who have made the switch to assigning their pre-recorded lecture/direct instruction (asynchronous) as the homework assignment and then doing the actual work in class as part of the regular school day (synchronous). Those who have done so have seen the biggest gains during the pandemic. Embracing this as a new model to teach, provided students are engaged, has the biggest potential for education in the post-pandemic world.

GRACE

Of all the things the pandemic has taught me, the ability to give grace to others is at the top of the list. I am a self-described task manager who likes things done a certain way, by a certain time. In a pandemic world, this is something that I have had to adjust greatly because people are dealing with things that I don't even know about. We all carry baggage and need to know that we have people in our corner who see, feel, and hear it so we don't feel like we are alone. During the pandemic, I have worked with teachers, students, and families that are struggling with mental health issues, suicidal ideations, divorce, homelessness, and a host of other traumatic issues. These things happen even when we are not in a global pandemic, but they have been magnified in this past year and it has taught me that while school is important, it is not at the top of the priority list. Giving people grace and showing empathy and understanding is at the core of our jobs as educators. We need to embrace the unique circumstances of each person and not push them aside. We need to understand that grace should be an absolute and not a carrot that we dangle in front of people to get them to do what we want them to do. Life is tough enough. We just need to be kind and understanding.

EQUITY

 

The pandemic has amplified and magnified the issue of equity in our schools and has given us all an opportunity to push the pause button and do some deep self-reflection. This is uncomfortable, but necessary. As a white male, I need to acknowledge that our system in this country (schools, government, social status, etc.) was designed for me and has provided me privilege that I was born into without having to do any work whatsoever. To use a sports analogy, I was born on third base thinking I hit a triple when others haven't even made it out of the dugout. As a leader, I have two choices. I can accept it and do nothing OR I can find this status quo unacceptable and do everything within my power to make things more equitable. In schools, we focus on equality a lot in the form of student handbooks, grading practices, building procedures, and a host of other things because we don't want to give the impression that we are showing favoritism to a specific person or group. The problem with this line of thinking is that by trying to provide equality, we are actually making things more inequitable because we aren't taking into consideration the individual circumstances of people. Equality has to do with giving everyone the exact same resources, whereas equity involves distributing resources based on the needs of the recipients. If you look at the picture above, you will get a visual representation of the difference between equality and equity. On the left side, three identical boxes are given to three people of different heights—it’s an equal distribution of resources, but it fails to consider that the tallest person doesn’t need a box to see over the fence, while the shortest person could clearly use an extra one. When the boxes are redistributed equitably, as seen on the right side of the illustration, all three spectators can watch the game. My fear is that equity will become an educational buzzword, when in reality, it should be something that we all embrace as the right thing to do so that we can help ALL of our students achieve their fullest potential in spite of the circumstances they face. As schools, we have A LOT of work to do to achieve equity for our students, but if we are committed to the process of grappling with our past practices that are inequitable, we can have a huge impact on the students we serve.

CELEBRATIONS

I've mentioned before that at the end of this pandemic, I'm going to do a ritual mask burning in my backyard, which may be a future blog post at some point. Until then, however, I want to throw it out there that we all need to celebrate a little. We have made it through a year of teaching in a pandemic. It hasn't been easy, but that's why doing hard things is great. If it were easy, everyone would do it. We all need to find ways to celebrate this year. For me, I would encourage you all to take some time to turn up the music and dance. To get you in the mood, I would offer up this gem from Napoleon Dynamite.

#OwnYourEpic #FORGE