First Days

I know some schools have already opened. And many of them

have already closed!

For those teachers who are contemplating the beginning of the school year, though, some thoughts.

• First Days, plural. I’m thinking about the beginning of the school year as pre-first day, first day, and post-first day. Why? Because in these COVID times, relationships are more important than ever — and teachers can (maybe should?) get them started as soon as is humanly possible. How? By communicating with students. Via email. Via video. To show interest in them. To learn about them. And to set up expectations for the school year that alleviate anxiety because they at least try to structure the vast unknown.

• Relationships. How, dear teachers, is your instruction going to facilitate students’ relationships

  • with you? (very important, as you are the holder in these crazy times)

  • with each other? (very important in a time of social isolation)

  • with the content? (very important if any learning is going to happen this year)

  I just read an article in the American Psychological Association’s magazine Monitor on Psychology about distance learning. One of the psychologists interviewed said this:

  “To stay motivated when learning at home [and in class?], students need to feel competence, relatedness (a sense of belonging and connection with others) and autonomy” (p.58).

  These feelings, I suggest, emerge from relationships with you, each other, and the content. How will you facilitate them?

• Bare Bones. Get down to them. What matters? to you? to your students? How can you focus your work and your students’ work on those specific goals and values? How can you remind yourself to return, repeatedly, to your answers to these questions? What do you have to let go of? What will it take for you to actually surrender to the bare bones?

• Parents. This fall is not like this past spring. The expectations and therefore the stakes are higher. The conditions are way different. For one thing, many parents are back at work (even if remotely). Their stress around working and managing children’s schooling is sky-high. Educators can become targets of that stress. How can teachers and parents make it through this impossible reality together? What creative plans and partnerships can be arranged now?

Next up: Some concrete ideas for First Days.

Are we still doing mantras? In case we are, here’s one: Visualize joyful connections. (That’s what I’m going to do this week.)