AMI and the Pandemic

It’s been a while since we’ve posted, far too long really, but we’re still here. Like every
other educator in the country, this year has been one to remember! We’ve been asked
to flip our classrooms with very little notice. We sent our kids home thinking we would
see them again before summer. We embraced the change and even thought it was
nice for a while. But the sustainability of AMI was difficult. We felt the distance between
work and home slip away, we struggled to find ways to keep our kids actively engaged
without seeing them face to face, to keep the academic rigor strong while having to
explain everything virtually, and we balanced ever-changing directives and expectations.
I’d like to say we managed it all with grace, kept every ball effortlessly in the air, and
sailed through it all, but in reality, it was a messy business. We tried new things, some
worked, some did not. We learned very clearly the value of just seeing our students,
and how important that morning greeting is to them and us. By the end, we were
exhausted! 

Now, we are in the midst of summer. Somehow the exhaustion seems still just a breath
away, but we are preparing for an uncertain fall. Daily the number of COVID cases is
rising, causing us to doubt the plans for reopening while longing to return to normal.
We are balancing the desire to plan with the uncertainty of how we will need to teach
in the fall. 

To add to all this we are in the midst of a crisis in our country. The news is overwhelming
us with news every day of another protest, violent crime, inadequate civil or political
response. This fall will be a challenge like none we have ever experienced as educators.
the moment we set foot in the building or post our first virtual lesson our students will
once again be looking for us to set the tone and help them make sense of the world
around them. In a time where the good news seems often a distant hope, we need to
be prepared to help them live in the present, understand the past, deal with the
uncomfortable, and still maintain hope for the future. This is no small task! 

So how? How do we prepare for the ever-changing landscape before us? We have
to learn. Read, analyze, question - all the things we ask our students to do. We have
to do the difficult work of self-analysis and not be afraid to be real first with ourselves
and then with our students. We have to share openly our presumptions, shortcomings,
and bias, and we have to encourage and participate in uncomfortable conversations. 
These conversations need to present a more accurate historical account of our country.
They should empower students to question things they don’t understand. Is it easy?
No! Is it necessary? YES! For their future and ours.

So our goal is to be more consistent with reflecting this year and making a stronger
effort to document our thoughts and results by posting here to not only help ourselves
make sense of the uncertainty that surrounds us but hopefully to help our readers as
well. We have some ideas for some new cross-curricular units that will of course
highlight social justice, but we will be bringing more current events to the forefront
of our lessons. We will have to adjust our tried and true Refugee and WWII/The
Book Thief units because we have found some activities that work better since we
last posted about them and because the state of education will be different this fall.
We will have to accommodate for social distancing/virtual learning, and whatever
else may surface as a result of this pandemic. So, stay tuned . . . more will be
coming your way as we attempt to plan and prepare for a school year that will have
to be one of the most flexible and changing years that current day educators have
ever experienced!