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Hybrid Teaching
With the first week of hybrid teaching under my belt, I can officially say that I am exhausted and excited at the same time. This week has been great. Being around people and being social were things that I sorely needed. I could never have continued online teaching as a full time job. However, everything Continue reading
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Impending Announcement.
Tomorrow (July 30th) is the day that the Minnesota governor will be announcing his recommendations for opening schools this upcoming school year. To say that I am worried would be an understatement. I am not sure I am mentally prepared for another bout of online teaching and learning. The last semester took such a toll Continue reading
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What is Equity in Education?
Equity is a topic that has been on everyone’s minds and lips lately and it has caused quite a lot of debate about what the term actually means. Here is the prevailing definition: Equity is the purposeful unequal distribution of resources in order to obtain equal outcomes. At first glance, that statement seems unfair. When Continue reading
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Summer
Well, we made it. Just like that the school year ended not with a bang but with silence. Time has warped so bad that it took me three days to notice that it was even summer break. But even as my conscious mind sat unaware or the time, my body clearly understood. The weight that Continue reading
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Anti-Racism Starts with I
A lot of people are now sharing memes, videos, and posts about how appalled they are. They are expressing sadness and outrage at the horrendous murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. I see a lot of fingers being pointed. Pointed at the police and the officer himself calling them racist. And to be completely honest, Continue reading
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Best Practices For Teaching During COVID-19
One of my favorite pictures of teaching in action. “Hey Google” “What are the best practices for teaching during Covid-19?” Spoiler alert: There are none. When my school district produced a mandatory professional development session that taught teachers how to transition to online learning, I became immediately skeptical. I was also frustrated at the utter hubris it Continue reading
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The Needs of the Many
I spend far too much time on Facebook these days. Being quarantined at home has it’s own toll on your mental health, but scrolling Facebook for hours on end also has it’s own toll. One of the tolls Facebook creates is actually a dichotomy. On one hand it’s a false sense of empowerment. The feeling Continue reading
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Teaching During Covid-19
Recently, I saw a post (I can’t remember who even reposted it for citation purposes) that discussed the language we are using during our online teaching. The post brought up an interesting point that I want to dig deeper into. What do we call what teachers are doing right now? Is it online learning? Is Continue reading
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Small Successes
I was going to come on here tonight and blast away at my problems and issues. This online learning thing is overwhelmingly anxiety inducing. But as I was avoiding writing by doing some grading, I noticed a trend that changed my attitude. My students are flourishing with the current work I have given them. Last week I Continue reading
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Working on it.
I am feeling relieved. I have discovered some great tools; things that are possible leads on some potential classroom tech that I think will be very creative and helpful to my students. I have also come up with some backup lesson plans just in case I discover that the plans will not work. However, I Continue reading
The Life Argotic 