For each school day of the 2020-21 school year, I will be writing two sentences to capture some of the impressions, feelings, experiences, or thoughts I had that day. This is the third post in the series.
Monday
No school.
Tuesday
First period was a joke, but it wasn’t a terrible day. My kids aren’t learning any math, but at least we’re getting more comfortable with each other.
Wednesday
My first few “lessons” have been subpar. Realized that, while things are still going horribly, I’m feeling better about things this week; my binder is helping.
Thursday
Gave the kids some individual work and did one-on-ones; some good, needed conversations. This was the first day with students in the building and my brain was all over the place; teaching with a mask on ain’t cool.
Friday
I was finally able to give Mathematical Voices to several of students from last year; that was special. Had a heavy talk with BD after school which reminded me that life is more than White privilege.
bp
I completely understand.
I had no way of knowing what this year would be like, and honestly, sometimes it feels empty.
But I’m a bit obsessive, so I do continue asking them if I can please see their faces. Some days 👍🏾 and some days 👎🏾
The only things that have been getting me through this experience are: teaching about Tuskegee, environmental racism and my RSJ Elective. Now, I have to keep pushing myself to infuse my mission into Living Environment. That’s the only way I can do this at all.
I know how much connection means to you. Putting the mission into your work can be a bridge to the connection you need. I feel you’re making that happen through your work with RSJ, reading “Cultivating” and your own personal work. This technology barrier is so ever-present and burdensome. But it’s also full of contradictions: it has the ability to bring us together, and yet we’re isolated; it gives us access to a world of information, but we’re dependent on our connectivity and wi-fi capabilities. What’s going to happen when the grid goes BOOM 💥?
I feel like I need to let myself off the hook; this is my first global pandemic. All these changes to our lives and routines are overwhelming, my adjustment is an on-going process. As we say in Jamaica: “ Some days coffee, some days tea.”
One day at a time, one meaningful topic at a time…that’s all we can do. We’re only human and we still need to be good to ourselves. Take heart, you’re having more of an impact than you know. We all are.