A New Normal
Well, after a much needed week of rest, it was back to work, but definitely not back to normal. It looks like we are going to be having a new normal for a while, and it is going to take some adjusting to get used to it.
Spring break was good--very relaxing. I would like to say that my time was spent evenly distributed between getting things marked off of the to-do list, exercising, reading, and relaxing. But it was definitely more in the relaxing column, spent playing a game on my phone or watching Netflix. In my defense, though, I do watch Netflix while on the treadmill, so that has to count for something. I also got on my bike and rode around St. Cloud several days, so that was good too.
As for "back to school" on Monday, the new normal finds my days spent in front of the computer. Having this experience of teaching from home has taught me that I am glad I didn't go into a profession where I would need just be sitting at a computer all day. I miss being able to walk around the classroom, checking in with students. I have found that I need to take a lot of regular stretch breaks during the day to get away from the computer screen. Most of the day is otherwise spent in virtual staff meetings, answering student/parent/colleague emails, checking student work, and planning. So regular stretch breaks are a must.
I would say, for the most part, that I think this week went better than the first few days when we needed to go online. We got some pretty strong feedback that the first few days were very overwhelming as students and families were settling into online life. Having that feedback, my main focus was to slow down the pace of work and give the students more time to complete tasks. Going into the first 3 days, I identified activities that I thought would be an appropriate amount for daily tasks, but that was clearly not the case when combined with all the other classes. So we're going to go slow and steady.
Next week is going to bring some excitement, as I am going to try video conferencing with my students. I think they are going to enjoy it, and it's another opportunity to connect with them. We'll see how it goes!
Spring break was good--very relaxing. I would like to say that my time was spent evenly distributed between getting things marked off of the to-do list, exercising, reading, and relaxing. But it was definitely more in the relaxing column, spent playing a game on my phone or watching Netflix. In my defense, though, I do watch Netflix while on the treadmill, so that has to count for something. I also got on my bike and rode around St. Cloud several days, so that was good too.
As for "back to school" on Monday, the new normal finds my days spent in front of the computer. Having this experience of teaching from home has taught me that I am glad I didn't go into a profession where I would need just be sitting at a computer all day. I miss being able to walk around the classroom, checking in with students. I have found that I need to take a lot of regular stretch breaks during the day to get away from the computer screen. Most of the day is otherwise spent in virtual staff meetings, answering student/parent/colleague emails, checking student work, and planning. So regular stretch breaks are a must.
I would say, for the most part, that I think this week went better than the first few days when we needed to go online. We got some pretty strong feedback that the first few days were very overwhelming as students and families were settling into online life. Having that feedback, my main focus was to slow down the pace of work and give the students more time to complete tasks. Going into the first 3 days, I identified activities that I thought would be an appropriate amount for daily tasks, but that was clearly not the case when combined with all the other classes. So we're going to go slow and steady.
Next week is going to bring some excitement, as I am going to try video conferencing with my students. I think they are going to enjoy it, and it's another opportunity to connect with them. We'll see how it goes!
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