What are we doing if not educating-Theresa Coomer

As I was driving in the car I flipped the radio to a talk radio station I do not often listen to.  The segment was on the necessity of opening schools.  The guests were anguishing the abysmal state of education due to the lack of in-person learning.  I could feel the flush of anger and pains of sadness start to well up inside of me.  Over the spring I had seen my mom and sisters throw themselves into innovating their teaching to provide their students with a high quality of education.  They had to navigate new normals and not only change their teaching, but teach all their students, and many of the parents, how to navigate the digital landscape that was remote learning.  They did all of this all while navigating their own journeys through a global pandemic.  They may have had many of nights filled with tears of frustration and feelings of being so overwhelmed, but they continued to not only show up, they put in the extra effort to take care of their students in so many ways.  I joined them in this effort in the fall.  It has not been an easy road, but we have all had a calling to be educators and we have faced this brave new teaching world with grit and love.  So, when I hear blanketed arguements that students have lost a year of education, or that another day out of the classroom means students are falling further behind, then our sacrifice and heartwork is dismissed.  

"Today I had a student raise his virtual hand in the middle of a lesson to say he was hearing something on the news that was upsetting him, but he wasn't going to share because he didn't want to interrupt the lesson...I asked him to share.  

He said he was listening to the Mayor talk about how kids in Chicago are not getting an education and it upset him.  He said the reason he wasn't learning at the beginning of the year was because he was lazy.  Now that he is engaged in his learning and was given the choice to go in or stay home he is more engaged and loves being in class.  He didn't like hearing he wasn't getting an education on the news because he knows he is getting a good education and he knows he is safe at home.

These kids keep me going every day when it feels hard.  They remind me why I do it."-Mary

"Our Governor just announced today that Maryland Students did not get an education this year."-Carol

"My U.S. Representative released this statement 'Every Day that goes by with out students in the classroom is another day students fall further behind.'"-Theresa

Teachers have gone from celebrated heroes at the beginning of the pandemic to societal punching bags, yet again.  What are we doing if not educating?

Today was Hard -Kathy Risolvo

One of the hardest days I have ever had teaching. Do you ever have one of those days, you know, the kind where all you really want to do is be there for others and give them your best? One of those days where you question each step and hope that your decisions are the best for the ones that you have influence over? Today I needed to be prepared to teach students who watched the news last night but didn’t quite understand what was happening. I mean, let’s be honest, I am still processing what happened yesterday in the capitol. I prepared to talk to 14 different classes of 9, 10 and 11 year olds and every single group was filled with little minds with different experiences. I was careful with my words, knowing the potential weight that each word carried. I was careful to watch my own bias knowing that I carry influence. And at the end of my work day, I was so run down and tired that all I wanted to do was cry and eat ice cream. All my parts went to battle. My activist part thought, “you should have said more.” My peacemaker part thought, “you should have said less.” My inner child said, “someone tell me what to say.” My teacher leader part said, “you’ve got this.” And so on and so on. All the while I realize that we are sitting in the middle of this story. A story that will one day be part of the American history books but also part of my personal history. And today was hard.

Birds, Birds Everywhere -Theresa Coomer

This past year in education has brought about a tremendous amounts of new experiences and with that some unexpected outcomes. We have been welcomed into our students homes and have welcomed them into ours. And with that new intimacy comes pets. Over the years of teaching I have heard countless stories of my students furry, fluffy, scaly or leathery family member. I have ohhed and awed over their pictures. On the rare occasion I have met the new puppy at end of the day pick up. Now these animals have become more integral parts of the school environment. What I did not expect from this new experience is the level that birds would become a part of my regular school chatting. Birds sitting on students heads through a lesson, birds being the center of a short story, very detailed directions on how to care for birds, a in depth explanation on different species of small birds to keep as house pets, a student showing off their chicken that has been brought in due to the cold, and more. Although the vast amount of bird related teaching experiences have been unexpected, they have been welcomed. The deeper connections made with our students as well as a connector between our cornucopia of teaching environments has been heartwarming. It has brought a much needed sense of levity in our educational worlds that continues to help us accentuate the positives. Just recently we have had a woodpecker visit our house by pecking on our back wall. It sounds like someone in our backyard knocking on a window. Even though I know we need to direct that woodpecker to a different location, every time our little neighbor knocks it reminds me of the fact that this year in teaching there are birds, birds everywhere.