2020-21 Pandemic Teaching

Who knew that a pandemic could be such a fun and interesting time to teach!

Being a first year teacher I knew that there would be a learning curve but added with a pandemic? That’s a whole new ball game! I lucky worked at a small school that did not have many run in‘s with Covid shutdowns but masks, extra sanitation, distancing and being on a cart were still very present.

I learned a lot this year but these are the biggest takeaways:

1. Teaching on a cart is chill

1. At first, I was nervous because I’d be in someone else’s classroom and thought that I wouldn’t have control as I would have to follow that teacher’s classroom rules. It turned out to be an awesome learning experience as it was nice to use a combination of my expectations mixed with the classroom teacher’s expectations. I felt that students had a more structured agenda and were more behaved most of the time. Not only that but they used some of their own materials which saved money and made it more sanitary for all involved. I also had more of an opportunity to create connections with classroom teachers which in turn made any discipline issues easier.

2. Creating and maintaining a good art program takes work

a. First of all, art materials are expensive. It is so easy to blow through money and not even get all of the items that you want. But it did teach me the best places to buy materials as well as how to not be wastefull. It has also made me want to try things like paper making so that we can reuse the paper that is recycled again and again. Second, it was very clear that the teacher before me was more of an ”arts and crafts” teacher. This left me with a K-12 program of kids who did not know the actual basics of art such as Elements of Art and Principles of Design or other art terms. I knew that I would have to start over with many of the kids and start from the basics. It was amazing to see the progress that every child had and how much improvement they made over the 9 months that we were together. But getting to this point took many many hours of planning and time that went way over the typical 40 hour week. All of the time is worth it for the kids.

3. You are a second home for many kids

a. I knew that teaching was all about building relationships and creating connections but I never new that it also meant I would be an important adult figure in their lives. I had many kids from varying ages, backgrounds and family dynamics that each had their own things going on. Many of them would confide and share information that I knew they didn’t share with their parents and at first that caught me off guard. I did not picture myself as someone who had knowledge to share as I still felt that I had a lot to learn. But I learned that sometimes the kids just needed someone to talk to and express how they were feeling. Teaching is all about the kids and I learned just how much that statement is true.

4. Basic needs have to be met before learning can take place

a. In college, we learned about the 5 basic needs that every child has. I just assumed that those needs would be met at home but that is not the case. Kids come to school in all different mindsets as well as physical states of being. When they’re not ready to be there it is always a fight and sometimes you have to compromise or work with students in unconventional ways in order to get those needs met so some learning can take place. The best advice and practice that I was given was to show up for the kids everyday wherever they are instead of coming in with a predetermined space of what they should be. This advice paired with treating everyday as a new day and never holding what happened the day before against them were my biggest saving graces. If I had not done those things I would have had students that hate me as well as I would have been frustrated and burnt out after the first month.

Overall, I went into my first year of teaching with no expectations and was able to learn more than I could have thought possible. It has only created more of an excitement and readiness to continue doing what I love and I can‘t wait to see what next year brings!