Well hello, it's been a while. I honestly feel like I say the same damn thing every time I start one of these blog posts. I need a new tag line or maybe I just need to actually write more often so I don't constantly start the next one with, it's been a while. There are so many things I could say about how things are going, but most of them would make my mother wash my 30-year-old mouth out with soap, and yes, she's actually used to me cussing around her now. I am going to try and keep this positive because we don't get anywhere with negativity and there has seriously been way too much negativity around lately.
After winter break, we went to distance learning for two weeks and I was actually really impressed with the students. Almost all of them showed up to their designated times on both of their days. It gave me a little hope for when we were to go back and if we were to see the kids more than once a week. We started strong by setting goals for 2021 and having the students create flipgrids. They hit the ground running and even though most of them didn't show their face on their video, they did it and it was great. My co-teacher and I made the most of the situation being at home and using google meets to start a new unit.
Now, we're into February, and the kids are working on their final projects for that same unit. We have a lot of drawers this year, and this is turning out to be the best project for them. They get to design their own graphic essay. It's something that is new to all of us, but they chose a theme, picked a few quotes from the texts we read during the unit, and are adding symbols and images that represent their themes. Their rough drafts are looking pretty fantastic, so I am looking forward to their final drafts that they are currently working on this week. Once they are finished, they are going to do a virtual gallery walk using Flipgrid again. I've been trying to normalize things as much as I can while also maintaining the distancing that is required. Moving things digitally has presented some challenges, but we are working through them.
All in all, the amount of negativity in and out of school lately has worn me down. It's hard to hear it all around you and still keep that positive mindset. Lately, I have tried to stay away from it as best I can, but it seeps in like a bad seal on a rainy day. Which, we've actually had a lot of recently. Seasonal depression is a real thing and I definitely need some sunshine back in my life. I've tried to surround myself with different people the past few weeks which seems to help. So here's hoping the sun starts shining, the people I surround myself with stay positive and the kids keep showing up.
Can we talk about the month of February for a minute? Why is it that every year, February, the shortest month of the year, seems incredibly longer than all the others? From a teacher standpoint, I can tell you it's one of our months where we don't have a single day off, which wouldn't be that big of a deal, but it's 100 days long! Honestly, that's the only thing I can think of. This is my 6th year of teaching, and every single year, February feels so much longer than the rest. If anyone has any other insights, send them my way!
Love from the exhausted teacher trying to make a difference one day at a time
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