COVID-19 Teaching Diary Day 4: Hitting a Wall

For the first few days of remote teaching I was energized. Maybe it was the newness. Maybe it was the urgency of providing my students stability and education. Maybe it was just a way to distract myself from the general anxiety and surreality of this moment. Either way, today that energy was gone. I hit a wall.
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Among the challenges was the start of some disruptive behaviors. In teaching we describe the initial weeks of school as the "honeymoon period." As the kids get used to the classroom, their classmates, and their new teacher, they're often quieter and calmer. Today marked the official end of the Google classroom honeymoon period. During our virtual morning meeting I had a few students going back and forth in the chat. All of this happened while my principal was participating.

During my second video call, my "math check in" I had some more disruptive behaviors.

Adding to my disillusionment was the fact that my participation or "attendance" numbers dropped today. I had hoped that attendance would improve linearly. But the numbers went from six to twelve and back down to seven over the past few days.

I know this is all a part of the learning curve for my students and me. But it's human to want to feel successful. So, it's normal to feel frustrated when I'm not.

Right now, my number 1 priority is getting my students connected and comfortable with Google classroom. While I work on that, I'll have to be patient and persistent.

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