Dear Teachers,
It has been 24 years since I had my own classroom (and remember it fondly!) and much has changed in how teaching is delivered. However, there are some things that I believe are essential for any teacher to communicate at this time (that I am totally stealing from an article that was recently shared with me): Look at the end of this year (or maybe start with the next month) and determine (as a team/department/PLC would be better than individually) what the really big rocks of learning are. The really big ones – not medium or small – but the essential. I’d then determine how I’d want to teach these to students in a fun and creative way. All the while, I would be thinking of the following things as priorities in my interactions with my students (taken from the linked article): establishing a routine and maintaining clear communication; relationships and well-being take priority over assignment completion/compliance (how might I build relationships in ways with students now, that I may have been hindered to do in a classroom setting); and how might I foster a sense of safety, connectedness, and hope during this time?
~Jim