Notes to my September 2021 Self

As we come to the end of quadmester 1, I have been asked about how tough is it to teach 2 out of 2 classes. This is a hard question to answer. Everyone's class schedule, personal life, teaching experience and comfort with unknown are different. As I have attempted to diplomatically answer "Is it that bad?" I end up reflecting on my quadmester and thinking about what advice I would give myself if I could go back to September and some other things I have learned along the way.

Background

In our board we are currently operating under a quadmester model where we teach one class for 2.5 hours in the morning and another class for 2.5 hours in the afternoon. This means that a normal 3 course semester for a full time teacher is split into two quadmesters that are very different. One where you teach two classes (essentially all day) and another where you teach one class and cover other teachers breaks during the other half of the day. This makes the workload quite different between the two quadmesters.

Is it that bad?

The short answer is yes. The last 10 weeks have challenged me in totally new ways both professionally and personally. As cliche as this sounds, I think that is the theme of the pandemic, there is always something new around each corner. New waves, new variants and new ways of teaching and learning. Here are a few things I was not expecting when I went into this year and quadmester teaching model:

1. Teaching the same class for 2.5 hours straight brings a host of logistical and lesson planning challenges we are not used to facing
2. Every one of us is bringing more baggage into the classroom. This means us as teachers are spending more time and energy checking in with students and making sure that we are recognizing those challenges 
3. I have a young family and that is taking up more of my personal time to keep things afloat at home
4. I forgot how hard doing new things can be

So, in short, yes this was not great. The good part is, I think there are some things I could have done or realized earlier that would have reduced the stress of the past 10 weeks.

This is still not normal

After over 1.5 years in a pandemic, life somehow just feels harder than normal. I know teachers are feeling that, and so must our students. Some days it just took more effort to get through the day, or there was less energy left at the end of the day to plan, mark or do what needs to get done at home. If I am feeling this way, so must my students. 

If I can't keep up, they likely can't either.

Curriculum is not king

As teachers, we often get hung up on preparing students for the next step. Sometimes that is the next grade or the next step in life such as work, college or university. As I reflect on the skills that have benefited me in the last couple of years, and even beyond, it's the soft skills that have carried me along. Now, don't get my wrong, there are important pieces of information that we need to talk about but taking some extra time to talk about time management or how to best learn is better than adding that one or two extra pieces of content into their brains. 

Also, how many times, pre-pandemic, have you asked a class about a concept or skill they learned a year or two before and they stare blankly at you? It then only takes you 15 minutes to reteach an entire unit to them. Maybe being a good learner in the future will makeup for those couple of missed pieces of information not taught today?

Be specific and targeted

In grade 11 physics we work on lab skills and lab report writing leading into a larger lab based project in grade 12 physics. In the current format, time was not on our side, so we were not able to complete as many labs as in the past. The labs we did do focused on one skill or outcome they need to develop. I reduce the normal lab output to be only focused on the specific skill we were working on. For example in a lab that was focused on creating and communicating data collection procedures, I only asked them to write the setup and procedure sections of the report. This reduced the output needed from the students, and also reduced how much I had to review or mark to asses that skill. 

Set appropriate expectations

As students progress through the grades we increase the expectations around learning skills and assessments. Students have had very different expectations in the online or hybrid learning environment than they would have in a normal school year. That means that the normal expectations for their current grade may not be quite appropriate right away. For example, my grade 11 students had their grade 9 and 10 years during a pandemic and never wrote any type of exams. Expectations around assessments and learning skills can still increase this year, but taking a minute to chat with you students to get their experiences and think about what might be appropriate will save everyone headaches and stress in the end.

Collaborate

This quadmester I had two essential collaborations that kept me going. They were each quite different but both provided me needed support and took some weight (mass) off my shoulders. The first was another teacher who had taught this course many times before, as had I, and we talked daily about the progression of topics through a format like this. Having someone to bounce ideas off of reduced my thinking time and gave me ideas that I might not have ever thought about.

The other collaboration was with a teacher who will be teaching this course later this year. They recognized that helping to develop a plan and lessons now will benefit them in the long term and were happy to help out in this process. This took many forms such as brainstorming lesson progression and ideas for lessons, to collecting up resources and helping to make a handout. 

Both of these relationships were out of the goodness of the other teachers' hearts and for that I am thankful. You may or may not be lucky enough to have such people at your fingertips. It is worth the effort to reach out, ask around. You might be surprised who is out there and who is helpful when you start looking around.

Set digital boundaries

In a digital environment it is much harder but even more important to set boundaries. Students are working at night and have a question, so they fire off a quick email. In the last couple of school years we, as teachers, have been more likely to respond right away. We are all just working in our basements, so it's not a big deal, right? I think it is. Setting a time that you respond to emails or are available for extra help is important. Students will always push boundaries, that is how they learn what the boundaries are. Be clear in your boundaries and expectations and stick to them. 

Scheduling emails to send at a certain time can be a life saver. It is also valid to respond to a content question with an initiation to talk face-to-face about it. Teaching in person, or at least part in person does not have this same challenge as our colleagues who are working in a fully online format. 

Take a break

In this model having two 37 minutes breaks is not the same as one 75 minute break. Once you answer one last question or give last minute instructions as you tiptoe to the door then go to the bathroom and talk to someone in the hall you are left with 15 or 20 minutes of your break left. This is not enough to get into anything meaningful like marking a set of papers or planning the next day. If you find yourself with that time, have another two sips of coffee or tea, write one parent email, sit and stare, but don't write off those 20 minutes and just stay in the classroom. This is tiring and not what you need right now.  

Does it spark joy?

This last idea is stolen from the organizational guru Marie Kondo but applied quite differently. There are so many extra things that happen around a school or that are part of a teacher's normal life. I have started asking myself "Does this bring joy to my life". For some, coaching, running an extracurricular club or being on a school committee is part of what they normally do at the school. Seeing students engaged in a sport or activity or organizing convocation is rewarding, but sometimes not. So take a minute and think about if it is bringing you joy. Maybe you do one committee, team or club and not another and that's okay. Marie Kondo your activities, not just your sock drawer.

Is it going to be okay?

Of course, it is going to be okay. Take time to check in with your students and colleagues. Set reasonable expectations for your students and yourself. This is not normal in so many ways, so your teaching and learning will also not be normal. Reach out to leaders in your school and friends and family. You got this!