#sol2020 My Words Matter

It was a short walk this morning between virtual library time and virtual word study time under skies that were dark and foreboding.  We were only planning to walk to the end of the block to see the blow-up lawn decor that had popped up at a nearby house. I looked at the skies even as I agreed to go, and reminded myself that it had been dark and dreary on and off for weeks with hardly a drop of rain enriching our dusty ground.  So we headed out, without an umbrella or rain gear! It was just going to be a short walk!

After appreciating the multiple, amazing (to kids) blow-ups on that lawn by counting, studying, comparing and describing them, I was coerced into going down the block just a wee bit to see a few more decorations (no where near as fantastical)......and then, it started!

Slowly, just a mist began to fall; then surely, a full on, long awaited rain event began! So there I was stuck in the rain a few blocks from home!  I suggested we walk/jog as fast as we could safely go in the now full on rain while singing to try to make the rain go away.  "Rain, rain, go away, come again another day.....," we sang at the top of our lungs as a we made our way home!  

It was only a couple of blocks but miraculously, even before we turned into our driveway, the rain stopped!  The sun did not come out and the skies did not turn bright, but for just a few moments, the rain reduced to a mist barely perceptible when standing under a massive old oak. 

"Wow, my words matter," she muttered thinking aloud that her words had altered the course of the weather.  

"They sure do," I though silently as we went inside just before the skies reopened.  

I hope she always knows her words matter.  I'm reminded my words, your words, politicians words.......everyone's words matter! 

Thinking: This Fall

  I'm thinking about teachers, children, 

Returning to classrooms

Not cleaned like hospitals,

Returning to Virtual living rooms,

Manned by those who thought zoom meant fast. 

Returning to an uncertain future,

Defined by numbers, statistics,

Until someone or someone close to someone

Gets sick.

I'm thinking about all those college teachers, students,

Returning home, already,

Returning to rooms to learn, virtually,

Redefining learning, growing, college-life.

I'm thinking about all those parents,

Managing a changing learning world

Where the only thing that is certain is uncertainty.

It's hard for all the stake holders in this fall scenario.

Even administrators who are trying

To balance needs, wants, resources,

Socio-emotional and academic learning.

#sol2020 Things I Never Could Have Imagined

 

I've spent a lifetime in schools, as a student, teacher, mentor, and THOUGHT I had heard and seen everything; however, this fall, I am teaching grad students, observing a kindergarten virtual school, and homeschooling a preschooler, providing me with some interesting observations on learning remotely.  There are many things I never could have imagined. 

• "You will have to pretend those due dates aren't in the syllabus because school hasn't started!"
• "It looks like a cat is coming to writers' workshop today.  Can cats write?"
• "I don't want to color.  I just want to play"
• "I'm walking home, professor, but I hear you loud and clear."
• "Not sure who sneezed, but bless you."
• "I'm not sure what the number of my Breakout group was?"
• "Un-mute yourself."
• "How do you do observations virtually?"
• "Stop playing with your mouse!"
• "Pay attention." **** some things are normal....teachers have been saying this forever....

This is Not Normal

 A good blog post, like a good small moment, focuses on one topic.  But when you haven't written for a month, and even though you have been nowhere and done nothing worthy of mention, many moments have passed and it is hard to focus on one when you finally decided to write!  That is where I am this morning as the air has turned, promising fall is near and summer is ending.  

While cooler temperatures and searching for a sweatshirt are familiar, there is little else that is this September. Like SO many teachers and students, I am teaching virtually, online through Zoom, a platform I, like most others, did not even know existed until recently.  Now, if I had been a savvy investor, I would have bought stock in this platform and watched it zoom!  Of course, I never thought of that.  I did not think about the long term implications of this pandemic until I had to do so....

For the record, Zoom school is not easier for anyone.  Yes, you can teach in sweatpants or shorts and learn in pajamas.  Yes, you do save time commuting, traveling, busing, and perhaps packing lunches.  Nothing else is easier.  The planning end is immense and frankly daunting.  The goal of meeting students where they are and helping them each grow and learn is frankly daunting. How can you keep students engaged when you cannot coerce with proximity, stare to corral attention, or empower with encouragement?  

For the record, in person school is not easier either as sharing, cooperating, and eye to eye connecting is the heart and soul of learning.  Yes, the kids have someplace to go for a bit; yet, the worry is intense and the risks daunting.  How can you keep students engaged when you cannot coerce with proximity, stare to corral attention, or empower with encouragement?  

So, here's a shout-out to the teachers, pod-teachers, brand-new-thrown-into-teaching, zoom-newbies, administrators, parent-educators, grandparents-in-charge, and everyone else struggling always, or at least at times, with the unbelievable demands on your time, energy, love and patience.  This fall/year is not/will not easy - for everyone.  

To my former colleagues, who are still in the trenches, to my former grad students, who are now teachers, to my son, and my nieces, who are teachers and parents and students, I wish you all a safe school year.  To my grandchildren entering the murky waters of kindergarten and to everyone one of you working with kids who find learning challenging, know you are heroes.  Be on the lookout for stress and share compassion. This is not anyone's idea of normal.  

#sol20 August 2020 Anxiety

I watch them walk past 3-4 times each morning

In a steady stride and often wave a greeting from afar,

One day I was close enough to acknowledge

Their serious, regular workout routine,

"It sure helps the anxiety if we walk 5 miles."

I talked to a friend who is listening to books on tape,

All kinds of book about ancient civilizations,

Modern science, social problems.

I admired her dedicated reading routine

"It alleviates anxiety."

I watched a jogger move through the summer downpour

That followed weeks of relentless heat

Almost unfazed by the weather

In an often stressful-pandemic-summer.

I wondered what stressors would have contributed to 

" I needed to run in spite of the weather."

I hear the anxiety of parents

It's time to decide even as colleges shutter

Districts delay, backpacks sit waiting,

Good reports from small, specialized schools vs.

Scary scenes and numbers from mega-schools,

Leading to resounding

"I really don't know what to do."

I read the social media posts from teachers

Heading back to school in spite of challenges,

Wondering how institutions that cannot provide tissues,

Wondering if cleaning procedures will really happen,

Wondering how to teach without papers, small groups,

"Writing to share my stressors," perhaps.

I read the posts from teachers

Trying to become masters of virtual classrooms

Wondering if they can make lessons come alive

Engage reluctant learners, provide forums that encourage learning,

I'm one of them,

"Taking long walks, writing this blog,

Hoping to become a Zoom Master,

Hoping we can all be patient and persistent

In an August of no right or wrong answers."

Thinking About: Hamilton

Over the long weekend, I watched Hamilton thanks to Disney. I was grateful for the "bargain price" of 6.99 vs $$$$.  The music, the cast, and the historical-fiction-musical-infused perspective of America's story were worth the price! 

Lin Manuel Miranda's depiction of Hamilton as progressive and anti-slavery is not historically accurate; yet, the depiction of Hamilton and America's founding fathers as people with economic and political vision combined with a need for power and prestige is part of America's story.  The movie has spurred my thinking, reading and questioning!  

I knew Hamilton was an architect of our economy and was on $10 bills! I didn't know much else and so, many decades after my last history class, I started reading everything I could find about Hamilton and other founding fathers. 

https://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Hamilton-Ron-Chernow/dp/0143034758https://www.ushistory.org/us/18b.asp#:~:text=Hamilton's%20vision%20for%20reshaping%20the,a%20more%20stable%20paper%20currency.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=2973

I've been reminded that Hamilton authored many of the Federalist papers that proposed 3 branches of government and he, as well as most if not all of our founding fathers were owners of slaves even while penning documents that "All men are created equal."  

I've been reminded about the power of controversy to spur reading, thinking and learning. If only we could inspire our students with books, films and talk so they want to know more about prejudice, racism, sexism, immigration, privilege, climate change, pollution, health care, education, welfare, critical thinking......so they can be a part of the change in the  course of our nation's story....

All Over The Place

During this first week of the summer,  NY, NJ and CT are beginning to quarantine people coming from states where the virus is increasing. As I (and many others) was debating if it was worth the risk to get a haircut at the finally reopened salon, Disneyland postponed a planned opening for mid July.  

I'm pretty sure I am not alone as my thoughts wandered to how they could even monitor the zillions of roads into these NY, NJ, and CT?  Then, my thoughts wandered to how all this will impact colleges in these states that are set to open in 6-8 weeks and schools that are set to reopen soon after?

We can't deny it; summer will end and fall will come,  College, public school, and private school administrators have been talking about it for MONTHS and now, kernels of plans are being announced even as the numbers are increasing in so many parts of our country!  

It is clear that many, many individuals have fallen behind during the era of remote school. With parents and caregivers returning to work in many places with limited camp, pool,j ob, or play options, our students of all ages as well as their parents and their teachers are trying to figure out next steps.

One thing seems true: plans, opening dates, and schedules are SOFT (like Disney's revised opening) and ALL over the place! 

In today's briefings, I noticed:

• Marist College (Hudson Valley NY) will open August 24th, skip fall break, finish at Thanksgiving
• Michigan open September 2nd and go remote after Thanksgiving
• Ithaca College (upstate NY) will open on October 5th
• Cazenovia (not too far from Ithaca) will start August 18th 
• Stanford will have 4 quarters with half of the undergraduates at each quarter during the year
• NYS public schools - plan on reopening, but it's too early to decide

So, as I mull my own plans and syllabi for the fall, my thoughts are ALL over the place.

 While I guess this is all normal in these abnormal times, I guess it's why I find myself mulling over Facebook fueled mind-boggling puzzles such as this:

Let's be honest, I'm more likely to solve this puzzle than figure out what "school" will look like in the fall!

#sol20 Sprinklers

It was very hot,

The fancy-blow-up-pool-filler

"In transit,"

The mind-blowing-pineapple-pool still waiting,

So, I turned on the sprinkler

Used long ago for new grass.

It was no frills,

The water gently flowing,

Side-to-side,

The new-experience-excitement still building,

So, I too put on my suit,

Used long ago for swimming pools.

It dredged memories

The long, boring summers,

Long-ago,

The endless, hot-humid, nothing-to-do-days,

Used sprinklers (and fire hydrants) 

For peek entertainment.

It was a reminder

That overlooked activities

(Sprinklers, drive in movies, puzzles, reading)

Right now

During this pandemic-slowed-summer-avoiding-crowds

Might be recycled 

For this summer, 

Perhaps, for the future.

Father's Day: Ramps, Reminders

In the days leading up to Father's Day this year, I noticed a ramp, linking the front porch with the sidewalk, at a house where I knew the father had fought a hard battle against C-19. It took my breath away. It was a physical reminder of the serious impact of this virus on families, even the lucky ones. 

It was a reminder that even after days, weeks, months on a respirator and even after weeks, months in rehab, homecomings often include wheelchairs and other life-changing, long-lasting signs of the battle. 

It was a reminder that many families are facing this holiday without their father, grandfather, uncle, loved one.

It was a reminder that even as stores are planning to reopen (around here) and even as barber shops and hair salons are planning for a new normal, this virus and it's impact on lives is profound. 

It was a reminder of a lingering image of my own dad and his days, along with so many other dads, in a wheelchair, too weak to walk but still fighting to read, the NY Times, at the table.

It was a reminder of all those dads who will be working/distant/estranged, wishing they were with the families.

It was a reminder to wish all those dads who are changing diapers, coaching teams, planning fun, cooking dinners, working hard, and trying their best, a happy day.

It was a reminder to think about and pray for all those missing their dads or who wish to be dads.

It was a reminder to reach out, if you can, or remember, if you cannot.

Ramps are reminders that life and loved ones can change in a moment.

#sol20 School Days, Dear Ol' PreCovid Days

I've been reading the guidelines for returning to school in the fall and like most others, find the concepts of "catching up on lost learning," and "learning while social distancing" daunting, at best.  Yet, I know that virtual school via "homeschooling" is challenging, at best ,and not a viable option for many families.

I'm pondering tiny classes meeting outdoors under tents, shade trees, and in areas formerly referred to as neighborhood playgrounds or baseball fields? I'm wondering how schools might look without buses or lunchrooms or shared materials or small group instruction!  I'm worried about how we can meet the needs of students who need intensive individual learning plans. 

It's a big task to rethink schools beyond our "quick fix" of distance learning; I am confident that there are options because schools are certainly not static forums for learning. Our PreCovid 21st Century schools were drastically different from the learning environments of our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. 

So this reminder of the "good ol' days Pre Covid" is a "shout out" to all the teachers, students, parents, caregivers and administrators who did their best their best this year and who are going to spend their "summers" trying to come up with plans to meet curriculum mandates and to provide inclusive, differentiated instruction for the diverse learners

School days, School days,

Dear ol' Common Core days,

Objectives, assessments,

accountability, rule.

Curriculum driven, and test-score focused, too.

Kids brushed their hair and put on shoes,

Backpacks, water bottles, 

and snack sacks went, too.

We shared whiteboards and I pads and 

books each day.

We stressed over scores, grades and 

end of the year evals,

When we were carefree PreCovid.