1. Well, I had to be Flexible.
Yes, I know that this is something everyone usually told me!
“Be flexible!” “Be open to change!”
Well, 2020 definitely brought on a whole different meaning to that. Literally. Everything. Changed. Everything that I had learned from Aug. 2019-Mar. 2020 went out the window. Welcome to the world of online teaching! After I had literally just got the hang of small groups, stations, RTI, GT Enrichment, etc., it all had to be completely rethought. *Thinks to self* Man, there really should’ve been a course during Undergrad about Teaching During a Pandemic!
2. Don’t expect things to go perfectly the first time… or even the 20th time... Things WILL be #MESSEDUP (but that’s okay)!
“It’s going to be great!” I said. “I’m 100% prepared!” I said.
LOL, yeah right. Things went south REAL quick. I had to realize (and accept) that things were going to be bumpy- and that’s OKAY. Technology had issues, students forgot their login information, and yes- I #MESSEDUP 1 of our asynchronous assignments (or maybe >10 if we are being honest). No judgement here, right?
3. Students may have missed me, but I missed them 100000x more.
Leaving the school building on March 6th, 2020, I can be the first teacher to admit that I was SO READY for Spring Break. I needed that break. I needed that time away from work to regain my focus. To be honest, I needed the time to just not worry about “work stuff”. Never in a million years did I think that I wouldn’t be back with my students one week later. I never thought that I wouldn’t see those same sweet 3rd graders in my class for one last time. No more morning fist bumps, no chance to go on our class field trips or celebrate field day, no more dance parties, no more sharing funny insiders and everyday laughs, no time for an “official” goodbye. I could tell the kids were sad throughout that second semester, but I was crushed. I felt like my time with my FIRST group of kiddos was stolen from me, and I will miss that lost time with them for a very long time. Relationships with my students will ALWAYS come first, and will ALWAYS keep me going.
4. My Marigold’s Kept Me Going
You know, sometimes you meet people and you just know in your heart that they’re your Marigolds. If you haven’t read the post “Find Your Marigold: The One Essential Rule for New Teachers”, I suggest you read it… like now- it’s #SoGood (Gonzalez, 2013)! To keep this short and sweet, my 3rd grade PLC was my group of Marigolds. They kept me strong, encouraged me when things got rough (and I mean like eating chocolate and a margarita for dinner kind of rough), kept me hopeful and positive, and most of all- loved and accepted me unconditionally.
So, What's the Tea Then?
To be honest, this blog post is probably all over the place (kind of like how life is all over the place right now during 2020), and instead of stressing about it- I’m really trying my best to be okay with it! I’m not the perfect teacher (or Grad Student), but I am trying my best, and that’s all we can ask of anyone right now. Lowkey- I know if I was able to survive my first year of teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic, I know that I could do anything that comes my way! So I guess the “tea” is that as long as I am flexible, realistic, keep building relationships with my students, and keep my Marigold’s around- I will do pretty dang good.
Resources
Gonzales, J. (2019, July 26). Find Your Marigold: The one essential rule for new teachers. Retrieved September 17, 2020, from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/marigolds/
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