It's been way too long since I have written a blog post. Actually, it's been over a month. I've written way too many emails and tweets, though some of them could have morphed into a blog post if I had put the thought and energy into it. But I didn't. I, like many educators, have been adapting day by day and sometimes minute by minute. This blog post isn't about me, though. It's about the staff I go to school with every day.
Thursday, March 12th was the last day we were together with all of our kids. None of knew it would be the last day and I know if we had known our day would have been the same, except for maybe the goodbyes. I still remember the last student I said goodbye to that day, and he was the first one that I called the next day. I continue to text him once a week, and I just stopped writing to check on him before continuing this post...
If you've gotten this far, you're probably wondering about the title of the blog- "And they didn't think twice..." Well here are the reasons for the title.
School was canceled on Friday, March 13th, but our staff didn't celebrate. They didn't think twice and started thinking about what they were going to do to connect with our kids.
Staff came in for a meeting on Tuesday, March 17th, or they joined us via Google hangouts. They didn't think twice and began planning video lessons, even though they may not have even tried one before.
Staff came in to pack up lockers and cubbies. They didn't think twice and put student belongings in bags with student names on them to organize for delivery.
Staff came in to hand out student belongings. They didn't think twice about what time of day it was. They wanted to make sure that our kids had everything they could need.
Teachers created videos to stay connected with our kids. They didn't think twice and reached out every school day. They called families at least once a week, too.
Teachers prepared lessons for our kids. They didn't think twice about creating video lessons even if they didn't want their faces on the screen.
All of the above happened with one week. There was no extra training. There was no extra money. There were no more hours added to the 24 hour day. They didn't think twice and just did what needed to be done and often more than needed to be done.
As we progressed through this new temporary, we added the opportunity to connect live via Google Meets. It didn't start out mandatory and honestly still isn't mandatory, but the teachers and instructional assistants still reach out every school day, and often on days that aren't school days. They didn't think twice, they just did it.
And they've continued to do it every day. They are spending more time teaching and connecting and providing feedback than they probably ever have before. They are doing amazing things with and for our kids and their families. They are not doing the same things they did when the kids were in school. They are honestly doing more.
I go to school with amazing people every day. Our school day may not look like it did before March 12th, and that's perfectly fine. Honestly, some days it may even be better than before March 12th. We would all like to get back to having our kids in school, but for now that's not possible. Our teachers and instructional assistants and custodians and secretaries are doing so much for our kids and their families.
And they didn't think twice...
