Distance learning. The world is at a standstill. There is no baseball. No movie theaters. No socializing with friends in person. The world of education must go on. Our classrooms are empty, but our instruction is still happening. We suddenly went from managing three levels of differentiation in the classroom to managing nine. We are caring for students from families with stay-at-home parents, working parents, and out-of-work parents. We disrupted every carefully honed instructional strategy, learned many new ones, and are trying to walk the line between instructional goals and respecting our families who are worried about paying the bills. What does a teacher’s day look like in this time of crisis? How are we making distance learning work?
7:00 – Many teachers across America are enjoying a chance to start the day a little later during distance learning. We often start before 5 AM to accommodate all of the extracurricular opportunities that our students love.
8:00 – Check in on messages from parents and students who were working late at night, either by choice or out of necessity. Answer questions and reassure them that they are doing great. An emoji and some kind words have taken the place of a warm smile.
9:00 – The school day begins. If you aren’t teaching via an online video platform, you are answering questions and monitoring student work. My students are using Khan Academy, so I am checking all of their work from yesterday and touching base with students and parents who did not get enough work done.
9:40 – It’s time for a little break. One of my students usually lets me know in the Google Hangouts tab that I have open. It normally contains conversations from all of my students during the day, but at this time, the class video call begins to ring. I host a “conference call” to let them talk with their friends. In fourth grade, this usually includes several stuffed animal puppet shows. I continue to check work and prepare while monitoring the call – this is the norm of a teacher’s life. I interject every so often to remind them of kind behavior or ask a question about subject matter.
10:00 – It’s back to work. Everyone, including myself, is reading away. They are updating me on the books they are reading. I am posting book suggestions in Biblionasium from our local on-line library.
10:30 – It’s time for social studies. I am grading their work and answering questions.
11:00 – It is the official end of the day, but the learning does not stop. Everyone takes a break for lunch and recess, but I have curated podcasts, audiobooks, and a space to write stories.
12:00 – I have been slow cooking my lunch all day. It is wonderful to have a cafeteria in my classroom, but, much like the normal teaching day, I am using this time to help others with technology issues and prepare instruction.
12:30 – The video conference is about to begin. It is time to share a few stories with our friends. It is an important time to laugh with our friends and model writing craft. I hope a few of them did it. The educator in me wants to require more work, but some of my students are struggling with the essentials.
1:00 – I spend 30 minutes reading with low-risk students. They share their screen so I can see their library ebooks. I feel a great sense of accomplishment in knowing that this small part of the day was the best thing they received in their education today.
1:30 – While I have been reading, my advanced students have been coding, working on typing skills, and completing Bible lessons. They may be completing PE videos or working on their language skills.
2:00 – While the first part of my teaching day is wrapping up, I know that my students may be working on the hobby choices I left for them – cooking, art, STEM, and more. I’m about to take a break for the day. I know that I still have a few lessons to prepare, but I’ll take a moment to breathe.
3:00 – While the majority of my evenings were once quiet, with the exception of a parent phone call or some catch-up work, I usually crave these quiet moments to work on creativity for my classroom. After over 10 years of teaching, my once-manageable schedule now feels a little reminiscent of those first few years. Now, I have working parents, and their students may not start their work until they get home. My “door” stays open until about 9 PM, answering messages every so often.
9:00 – I am done for the evening. Any additional questions and work will wait for the next day of distance learning.
Our classrooms may be empty, but we are still here. We are caring for your kids. We are worried about educational goals. We are compassionate towards our families’ realities in these uncertain times. Our jobs look really different than they did a few weeks ago. We learned new skill sets and applied them quickly. We wanted to ensure that, while a teacher’s day looks different, our students still had a sense of normal.
