Welcome to the last entry of my blog series: Adaptations – Teaching in the 2020-2021 School Year. This week: PATIENCE.  

I have never been tried for my patience more than this school year. Patience with technology. Patience with families. Patience with students. Patience with colleagues. And most of all, patience with myself. Let me elaborate…. 

PATIENCE WITH TECHNOLOGY 

Talk about a learning curve. Steepest EVER! Technology is to thank for why we can continue to safely learn from home during this pandemic. As I’m sure you also know, technology, or the lack of it, is also a significant hurdle to overcome for ourselves and many of our families. 

Our district worked as quickly as it could to get technology to all our distance learners. However, even when a physical device is in the hands of a child, sometimes the internet connection gets in the way of students participating. Or families with multiple children are sharing one device and students must take turns. Or the device is only a phone, where images of the work we are doing is tiny and an incoming call interrupts a lesson.  

There are so many scenarios that could potentially interrupt the planned teaching and learning when it comes to technology. The charger was not plugged all the way in, and your iPad didn’t charge all night. Now it can’t project the in-class learners to the distance leaners. (Happened.) 

Suddenly the webcam on your computer quits working. “No camera available” pops up as you log in your distance learners. Gonna be tough to teach without a camera today! (Happened.) 

The Activboard pen quit. No longer recognized by the computer or the board. Can’t calibrate it. The tech position at the school was eliminated, so there’s no one to help you. Sixth grade colleague took his entire lunch to try and help you fix it, but to no avail. Put in a work order with IT and hopefully someone will get there before the end of the week. Fingers crossed! So much for the interactive flipchart! (Happened.) 

Zoom update! Time to restart the computer! Yes, 15 minutes into your lesson. Remember to click restart LATER! Oops. Restart now. 🙁 (Happened.) 

Distance Learner’s microphone no longer works. It says it’s working, they’re connected to audio, and the mute button is off, but you can’t hear them! And they’re five, so writing their answer or thought takes a reeeealllyy long time…and isn’t always legible! “Well, that’s one idea!” is all you can think to say. (Happened.) 

Switching from iPad to computer as host and you forgot to take the iPad off of audio. Screeching feedback pierces the ears of your in-person students. Sorry about that. (Happened.) Then when you go to switch the host, you accidentally end the meeting for all instead of leave the meeting, and you kick off all of your distance learners, who then need to figure out to log in again because clearly the lesson wasn’t over. Hopefully they picked up on that. (Half of them did – I had to text the other half to come back on because, you guessed it, that HAPPENED.) 

I could write on and on and on about technology issues I’ve had this school year. The good news is, I am still standing! We are teachers; flexibility is the name of the game. Flipchart not accessible, let’s get out chart paper and do it the old-fashioned way! Zoom update? Quick, switch to a different iPad! No microphone or webcam? Switch laptops or borrow a student device (if that’s an option) and do a restart on the one that is finicky. Believe me, my friends, where there is a will, there is a way! 

Nothing can throw your plans – and your student management – out the window more quickly than a technology snafu without a backup plan. Remember to stay calm – the kids can ALL sense when you are stressed, and the last thing they need is someone’s stress being taken out on them. When tech is giving me a hard time, I find that to be the perfect moment for some spontaneous Social Emotional Learning.  

“Let’s talk about how to manage stress when we are feeling anxious or frustrated! Boys and girls, I calm myself down by breathing slowly. Breathe with me for a count of four 1-2-3-4. Hold it for four 1-2-3-4. Let is out slowly for four 1-2-3-4.” 

We breathe together, I problem-solve. And it all works out in the end. 

PATIENCE WITH FAMILIES 

The beginning of the year was particularly stressful for everyone. Families with distance learners were navigating how to manage their learners on the virtual platform. Families with in-person learners were sending their children to school with the good faith in us teachers to keep their children safe and happy during a pandemic that had us isolated in our family units for months. Everyone was stressed, and everyone’s situation was unique. 

In our situation (two-teacher model, Spanish half day and English half day with two different teachers), families have two virtual classrooms to navigate with two separate Zoom links. They have to know when to log on and make sure their child has a distraction-free learning environment. This is not always possible. As families work from home, kids learn from home. Papers go missing. Siblings and pets mess up assignments. Parents have to take a work call during writing instruction. A student logs on late to a Zoom meeting because parents were busy helping an older sibling with an assignment and they lost track of time. It all happens. This year, I learned to let it go. Just like us, they are doing the best they can with the situation at hand. 

My teaching partner, Bebi, and I have learned that what parents need the most right now is to feel that their child is supported and learning, regardless of the learning platform. When one distance learning family sent six emails to each of us in one day, we knew we had to address their stress level.  

“How can we help you navigate the schedule better?”  

“Remember that the Zoom link remains the same for English each day. Spanish has a separate link, but it also remains the same each day.”  

“Take a moment to double check the materials we sent home. The book should be in there. Oh look! You found it!” 

And we always end our emails with a smiley face. 😊  

PATIENCE WITH STUDENTS 

Remember that in addition to our families, our students have had a tremendous learning curve to manage this school year. Masks? Social distancing? No touching each other? No playground equipment? Ugh. 

Patience with our students is the most important thing we must keep in the forefront of our interactions. I can’t tell you how many times a day I give mask reminders.  

Here is one of my amazing students wearing her mask. Despite all the challenges this year, she and all my other kindergartners and first graders are why I am there!

“Please make sure your mask is coving your nose and mouth!” 

“Mask up, Lucas!” 

“Bella, your mask is dirty – let’s get you another one!”

“Your mask needs to be on your face, not being used as a slingshot.” 

“Eric, it looks like you grabbed your mom’s mask. It’s flopping down. Try one of these instead!” 

And my favorite this year (true story; all of these are true stories): “Ruby, where did your mask go?” Ruby looks at me with big eyes then opens her mouth and pulls out her entire mask, which she had been storing in her cheeks like a hamster. “Oh, well, that one is a bit wet. Let’s get you a fresh one!” 

Moral of the story: Have plenty of extra masks on hand. (We ask the kids to keep an extra clean mask in their backpacks, but some children go through four masks a day.) 

Have patience with your students as many of them cannot hear you as well. They may miss directions. 

Have patience with your students as many of them cannot hear each other. This leads to misunderstandings and sometimes an increase in conflicts. They may need you to intervene. 

Have patience with your students as the masks they wear may be uncomfortable, or it may be the same one all week. Have extra masks on hand and figure out ways for them to safely take mask breaks where they can breathe in fresh air away from others. 

Have patience with your students as they want more than anything to be near others. They want to hold hands and give hugs. Utilize your hand sanitizer for before and after partner games. Find creative ways to “touch”. Bebi has the kindergarten class sing a song we call “Da le mano”. In years past they held hands and sung together. This year she has laminated “hands” on sticks that they use to touch and sing. Be creative. There are ways. 

Remember to teach the language of patience both explicitly and by being a good role model. Role play with your students what they should say if someone is too close to them. Give gentle reminders, backed by love and care. “Let’s keep everyone safe and healthy by keeping socially distanced!” 

PATIENCE WITH COLLEAGUES 

I miss my colleagues. We don’t get to convene in the lounge for Friday staff shared breakfast. We have staff meetings via virtual meeting. I miss the interactions we all had with one another and the camaraderie our staff had built prior to COVID that helped all of us remember to laugh at the small stuff. And I really miss the hugs I would get from colleagues during the hard moments: the irate parent, the lesson that bombed, the day without enough sleep.  

It’s so important that we are still there for each other. We are ALL going through these challenges of teaching during a pandemic. Some colleagues have health risks that make coming to work a daily risk, causing stress at levels I can only imagine.  

Since we can’t see each other’s smiles, my fellow staff members have started greeting each other with full-body enthusiasm! Instead of a smile and good morning, it’s more like a two-armed wave and some jazz hands when we see each other in the hall! We give each other shout-outs of gratitude that our principal reads on morning announcements. And we lend a helping hand whenever possible. 

Who knows how to fix the calibration on my Activeboard? 

My laptop webcam doesn’t work! Anyone have an extra I can borrow? 

A student broke the plexiglass at one of our tables – does anyone have an extra panel they aren’t using? 

We’re all helping each other however we can.  

PATIENCE WITH YOURSELF 

Please, remember that no one is perfect. I can’t tell you how many mistakes I have made this school year. I try not to focus too much on them, and I hope you will give yourself the same grace.  

Teaching during a pandemic is unlike anything we have ever experienced. At the beginning of the year, I felt like a brand-new teacher. I had plans for procedures to keep the kids distanced and safe, and they didn’t work. I had to try other things. I experimented and reflected and tried again. And I was up front with my students. 

“Boys and Girls, I have an idea. Let’s see how it goes. If we like it and it works well, we’ll stick with it. If not, we’ll try something different!” 

Teaching both in-person learners and distance learners is two full time jobs that you are juggling at once. It isn’t easy. Sometimes we make mistakes and miss a handout in the materials package. It’s okay! Sometimes we have to change the timing of a lesson because of a teachable moment or an interruption. It’s okay!  

Last week I inadvertently clicked the wrong meeting during kindergarten synchronous learning time. The whole 30-minute lesson I had the 1st grade meeting open without realizing it. I kept wondering why none of my distance learners were joining… Ugh. I felt terrible that our distance kiddos missed out. But I am human. I’m juggling a lot. I’m working on forgiving myself as I know the distance learning families already have. 

Remember to draw the line somewhere and take time for yourself. Do the things that make you happy and sometimes set school aside. Don’t check your school email after a certain time each day. Don’t let that Dojo message from a family take away from YOUR family time.  

Our principal has our backs, and I hope yours does too. She intervened with the six-emails-a-day distance learning families. She requested patience from them as we cannot stop what we are doing to address their every need throughout the day. Having your administrator be an advocate for YOU is an essential piece to teaching during these stressful times. 

You will make mistakes. And it will be okay. We’re all learning and will be better teachers because of it! Best of luck with the remainder of your school year, and here’s to a future full of hope and wellness!  

No matter what, we will learn this year. We will grow, we will achieve, we will ADAPT. No matter what your situation may be, I hope you will keep in both your heart and your mind the WHY of our jobs. Best of luck, and please comment to let me know how it goes!