New, Strangely Familiar Trends

I'm wrapping up a semester from my dining room table immersed in managing challenging behaviors, reading functional behavior assessments, and thinking about my students and their students!  Perhaps, that is why I find my mind wandering to the impact of this soon to be longer-than-a-year-long-pandemic-inspired-isolation on teachers, parents and children.  While I cannot, yet, talk to the long-term effects, I have noticed new, yet sometimes strangely familiar trends.  

• This semester's case studies include never-before-seen-problem-behaviors such as un-muting during Zoom. We used to complain about students' calling out behaviors. I wonder if it' the same students in this new environment?

• This semester, my students, even the Generation Zs, who are usually technology-savvy in ways I can only envy, are challenged by dropping Zooms, changing screen names, crying siblings, yelling parents, blaring televisions, screeching sirens,  teaching in basements, in bathrooms, on porches and even in cars! Yet, over the years, I have taught in hallways and basements and a-la-cart like many teachers before and after me.

• My students have never-before-used-excuses such as needing to get a Covid Test.  In the past, students needed early-in-career teacher medical visits for strep tests or pink eye and they had viruses frequently! They also had school concerts and plays that sometimes arrived on a class night.

• I know my students in ways I have never known them before.  I see their homes.  I hear their children. I respect their changing teaching environments. I share their virtual-teaching-challenges.  Yet, in years long ago, teachers used to make home visits to get to know their students and their families.  I still remember my sister's 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Apgar coming to our house! 

• As we walked on the sidewalk, 60 feet from home, my little one called out, "People!" as if there were aliens landing. This one would scare me a lot, if I didn't know that children were pretty resilient and that without much encouragement, that young-un would be happily greeting whoever was coming.

• As I do my early morning miles, I cross the street when I see someone coming in my direction to make sure I am not in a breath-shot of someone who might possibly come down with the sickness in the days ahead.  This one would scare me a bit if I didn't know that I look forward to meeting all my new neighbors who have moved from the city this year.

• I hear my neighbors, my friends and my students' concerns about their students, peers, family members, and loneliness.  I hear their concerns about physical well-being and emotional health. I hear their concerns about the holidays, shopping, deliveries, money, and the future.  While my students always express stress at the end of the semester, (I do too), this year, most of it is hard and sad and frankly depressing.  Most of it is dark and sad in spite of this season of lights and miracles and hope that begins today. Yet, this season of lights and miracles and hope is arriving right on time and on schedule like it always does.....and this should give us all a bit of hope.