Take Off the Mask: You are Enough

Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays, but as soon as the calendar turns to November, it indicates that Christmas is almost here. Since my oldest daughter Harper was born, we take out our Christmas decorations right after Halloween because I was home on maternity leave and had the time to decorate. Since then, it has become a tradition to enjoy the holiday season by embracing all things Christmas as soon as the leaves fall. 

Halloween has also marked some significant life events. On Halloween in 2008, I called in sick for the first time in my career. I had the stomach flu and had a long list of wedding tasks to take care of - including getting our marriage license. Josh stayed home, too, and we ended up getting legally married and crossing off one of the major and, perhaps, the most legally significant tasks left on our wedding agenda. Halloween is also the day that we received a frantic phone call from our children's pediatrician that Jordan most likely had cystic fibrosis. In 2017, our lives forever changed as we received a phone call that every person fears receiving. After hanging up the phone and frantically Googling CF, I remember moving through the motions and attempting to "do Halloween" with three small children dressed in Monsters Inc. costumes huddled around me on the couch. We went to houses, said Trick or Treat, took the pictures and went through the motions. 

Every year, as Halloween approaches, I reflect on the masks we often wear - masking our feelings, masking from COVID, masking to cover up or hide from what scares us. For so long, I coped with Jordan's diagnosis, the pandemic, and really any fears of being a parent by filling my days and schedule to capacity. I scheduled every second, so I didn't have time to process the pain and fear that I was living with. The bustle of a full day masked and suppressed my fears. However, the busyness of being a teacher, coach, friend, and more made me feel like a less-than-adequate mom. If I was busy being everything to everyone else, could I be an adequate mom? Society often expects women to juggle many roles, and it also expects them to excel in all of them.

I gave up a few parts of my life I loved this year because I thought it would make a statement that my family came first. By limiting myself and conforming to a role that others expected me to play, I would make myself more of a mom. For several months, I felt pressure from almost every person in my life to pull back and refocus on my family. What I learned in this process is that by denying who I am and attempting to remove parts of myself, I would become what I feared most. I would become less-than-adequate. By listening to this invisible pressure to fulfill society's expectations or to show that I would put my family first, I lost myself. Still, in doing so, I unknowingly removed a mask I didn't even realize I was wearing. Masking my fear with positivity and joy, I was able to play a part that allowed me not to process the deep-seated pain I had endured. Through this painful process, I have rediscovered myself. 

Halloween is a time to try on and play out different roles in life. We ask children to imagine what might be, and we can embrace those possibilities as well. If we think of a superhero like Superman, who is continually asked to save the world, we imagine a character with infinite strength flying through the sky. We don't often associate with or think about his other role - Clark Kent. He is both a superhero and an ordinary person working as a journalist. He plays many roles, both of which have value and impact the world. Superman can play both roles well, and in fact, in many iterations, he longs for the role that many deem less valuable or less impactful. I understand Clark's desire to serve quietly - not wanting to take credit or stand before flashing lights. I also understand that his power is not limited to just one role or one path. This character often works against societal expectations to hide his superhero identity. 

Through my own evolution this fall - losing and rediscovering myself, I have learned that I do not have to give up parts of myself to still be my version of supermom. My kids are the greatest gift in the world to Josh and me. Whether we are driving to dance class, crawling into Harper’s bottom bunk after an incredibly full day, or falling asleep at the fall play (Jordan did reluctantly fall asleep at the fall play this year - even though his version of superhero high school pals were onstage), we are a team ready to tackle our ever-growing to-do lists. What others might not understand or see as valuable can still hold value for me - for us. In fact, I learned that it is okay to move at superspeed if that is what fuels my work and passions. There are no limits to what we are capable of - regardless of what societal expectations may imply. 

This fall, my church asked me to speak on the future of our faith, which, again, has caused me to consider what might be. Our love, like God's love, is not finite. Our love and our capacity for joy are abundant, but only when we are true to ourselves - when we recognize our gifts and use them with intent. We are not put on this earth to fulfill someone else's definition of who we were meant to be. Instead, we must follow our individual callings. We do not have to mask or hide who we are to fit someone else's plan. 

My children, who are three of the most joyful people I have been blessed to know, have shown me and continue to show me that it is vital to be unapologetically ourselves. Despite their circumstances, my children remind me to find the good and that it is okay to put one thousand things on our to-do lists.

Jordan has spent the last six years of his life in and out of doctors' appointments, hooked up to a chest compression device, and taking countless pills to grow and thrive. His joy and love are gifts innately within him but also a reflection of all the people he has been fortunate to meet so far. He doesn't ever say no or turn away from an experience that brings him joy. He dances to his own beat and does not conform. He's defied many odds and continues to tackle any obstacle set before him unwaveringly. May we all continue to remember to find that inner joy, radiate love, and remember that we are capable of so much more than what the world might tell us.

Take off the mask this Halloween. You are enough. 

Bouncing Forward: Taking Inspiration from The Bounce Back Book

As educators, we have to roll our eyes at the perceived notion that some hold about our leisure summers off, which are often filled with professional development, meetings, working a second job (I adjunct at two local community colleges and do some side professional development work), prepping for next year, and squeezing in some time to recover from working overtime and attempting to balance family life.

I absolutely love my job. I find joy in walking into a school building, knowing that I will inevitably learn something new every day, make a great connection with another person, and have the opportunity to make an impact. Still, we need to recharge. Our summers are a time to recharge, rest, and prepare for another year of learning. We are bouncing back.

Every few months, the local library has a book sale, and my family excitedly scours the shelves to find new books. This past sale, a little read book entitled The Bounce Back Book by Karen Salmansohn. This book contains 75 tips for recovering from setbacks and adversity, and as I transition into a new role next school year, its premise resonated with me.

Challenges and obstacles are always in our paths and sometimes appear so quickly we become blindsided by their impact. COVID has shifted our perspectives, and the social effects of that period of our lives are still coming to us in waves. We can become debilitated by those waves, or we can bounce back. Whether we are educators in a classroom, administrators supporting teachers, or just people in the world, we can all learn to reframe the narrative and bounce back. So what does that bounce back look like? Here are the tips that resonated with me:

Tip #15: Find your bounceable people.

"Resilient people identify those who are available, trustworthy, and helpful. Then they go toward this light," is a quote cited in the book from Dr. Dina Carbonell of Simmons College. As teachers, we need to find people who will shine a light when we are struggling and seek out the light when they need it. We all need people willing to be present for us when our ball bounces out of bounds. We need people who will push back on the court and help us move forward in the right direction.

As teachers and as humans, we have tough days. Finding the people that will reflect the light back to us when we need it most and always sit in our cheering section regardless of the wins and losses helps us move forward and grow. Who we spend time with will shift our energy and perspective. Being aware of and seeking out the people that will help us become better versions of ourselves is a powerful strategy and makes life more joyful.

Tip #4: Feeling means you're dealing, means you're healing.

In my 20s and throughout my life, I have been told that my emotions are a weakness. I believed that they would hold me back and make me less of a leader. In the last few years, I have actively worked to unlearn that misconception. As an instructional coach, speech coach, and mom, I have used my vulnerability and empathy to lift others up. I now realize that my emotions are a strength that I leverage to help people see the best in themselves and to feel comfortable taking risks. My softness creates an environment that empowers others to grow. Feeling my feelings, especially since my children were born, has allowed me to evolve and find my footing in ways I never thought possible.

So as we all recover and move forward from the last few years, let's all find ways to be more authentic and share our emotions in productive ways to move forward. In the classroom, sharing our feelings with our students demonstrates that we can cope with struggles. We should not hide our imperfections because we would not grow without them.

Tip #19: Walk yourself out of that bad mood.

I struggle with stillness and am happiest on the move. The best part of summer is warm weather and more flexibility to get out for a long walk. My cousin and dear friend find ourselves sneaking in walks all summer. Being able to move, reflect, and be a sounding board for another person is a blessing and can create a space to shift one's mindset. Walking is good for the body but also so restorative for the soul. Even in winter, walking indoors solves most of my problems and allows me time and space to recover from hard times.

Tip #35: Don't just write a "To Do" list. Write a "To Be" list.

This tip struck me. I always carry a notebook in my hand. At school, I am notorious for leaving said notebook, which usually consists of a list of names of people, in random classrooms, the office, and the copy room. When people find it, they return it to me because it's my compass. It guides me to the people and projects that need me. Instead of simply considering it as my to-do list of items I must attend to, shifting the language and creating a to-be list feels more empowering. Life is not about getting through events and meetings but about being present in every moment. This shift in mindset and language gives purpose to a given day and sets an intentionality that fosters growth and relationships with others.

Tip #60: See awful as awe-ful.

Like the shift in language from a to-do list to a to-be list, seeing the best in even the worst situations can help us cope and redirect our trajectory. COVID was awful. During that time, I helped my district learn a new learning management system and was actively creating solutions for teaching and learning remotely. My son's health was a significant weight on my heart that prevented my family from moving past COVID restrictions long after most people returned to a more normal life. Those times were incredibly hard, but I shared incredible memories with my children. We learned to create fun in everyday tasks and find ways to serve others in our community, even from afar.

I am in awe of what we can do when we change the narrative. As educators, our impact is much more significant than we realize, but our actions don't have to be monumental. Sometimes, the smallest gesture or the simplest activity can be incredibly fun and life-giving. We merely have to choose our words wisely and shift our perspectives.

Tip #67: Perform your own research studies on happiness.

Finally, we have to keep learning. What happiness looks like to me is different from others. We need to learn to define happiness in the context of our lives. Happiness can be found in the smallest gesture or simply by expressing gratitude. It's also about letting go and learning to heal from the past. I find happiness is about learning and growing, which I strive to instill in my children and students.

Gretchen Rubin states in The Happiness Project, "It's about living in the moment and appreciating the smallest things. Surrounding yourself with the things that inspire you and letting go of the obsessions that want to take over your mind. It is a daily struggle sometimes and hard work, but happiness begins with your own attitude and how you look at the world." The slightest shifts can help us all bounce back from setbacks, but they can also help us bounce forward with great energy, momentum, and joy.

I highly recommend this quick read. I loved the ideas it sparked and the layout of the text. It's definitely full of ideas that can spark reflection in any person. Let me know if any of my local friends want to borrow it! Sometimes we simply need a little spark to get the flames roaring again.


References:

Rubin, Gretchen. The Happiness Project. New York City, HarperCollins, 2009.

Salmansohn, Karen. The Bounce Back Book. New York City, Workman, 2008.

From Exhaustion to Empowerment: A Call for Teacher Self-Care

Teacher burnout is real. From chronic student absenteeism to a lack of understanding of deadlines, I am hearing an overwhelming number of teachers locally and from my personal learning network express experiencing hardships and struggles in the school setting that have snuffed out the joy of teaching and learning. Exasperated by the end-of-the-year fatigue, state testing, and the longing for summer weather, teachers are worn out.

I get it.  

We talk about student SEL, but we often forget about teacher SEL. As an instructional coach, I often focus on bringing energy and positivity to teachers. Positive connections can help fuel even the most challenging days, whether formally collaborating or informally chatting in the hall. 

How do we continue to identify ways to engage in self-care and restorative choices that improve our day-to-day experiences and help us be better teachers for our students as they transition from one grade to the next, or in my case, from high school to college? 

First, we must create a culture of trust and openness. 

When a school is a safe place, our students are more successful. They are more engaged. As teachers, we must feel safe and allowed to be ourselves. When the professional environment is not open and supportive, teachers will stop taking risks, trying new strategies, and most importantly, they will stop collaborating and sharing great ideas. We need to trust that we can be authentic. 

One way to create that culture of trust is for administrators to provide leadership opportunities to their teachers. Often, teachers feel like their voices do not matter, and even if they have input on decisions being made, their input is dismissed or undervalued. A disconnect happens, and the reasoning behind decisions is often left out, which creates mistrust. Transparency matters, and taking the time to explain the why can make difficult decisions clear. 

Celebrating success is crucial and can shift the culture. 

This year, my focus has been finding ways to celebrate my colleagues. People need to be uplifted. During COVID and in this post-pandemic phase of life, strong teachers feel frustrated. "Normal" teaching practices and strategies are not working as they used to, and obstacles are seemingly popping up frequently. To combat the heaviness that many are still feeling, I believe in finding ways to celebrate the wins, honor leadership, and empower others to share their incredible ideas that often happen behind the closed doors of a classroom. This year, I have facilitated a sit-and-snack series that teachers throughout the building lead. 

The skills they share highlight strategies related to blended and personalized learning that any teacher can use in their classrooms, often immediately. I have also had the joy of starting a podcast called the "Teach in Ten" podcast with my friend and colleague, Cori Schwarzrock, which is focused on amplifying the stories of amazing teachers in our district. In both experiences, those teachers are uplifted and realize how valuable they are to our school community and our students. Teachers need to be empowered to share their strengths and recognize the value they bring to the school culture. The more plugged into their strengths, the more likely they will continue growing and engaging in the community. 

We need to reach out, offer support, and foster positive relationships.

I will be eternally grateful for the colleagues who have helped me navigate my 20s, encouraged me to find work-life harmony in the early stages of parenthood, and are the reasons I survived the pandemic. They are my lifelines and extended family who have brought me so much joy even in challenging moments of the last decade. We must lean into those relationships and find the people who help us grow, who are safe spaces when we need to vent, and who celebrate our success. 

We also need to remember to be those people for others. It's easy when we are feeling burnout to become isolated or to produce negative energy. When I am feeling low, I love to revisit the Marigold analogy - remembering that I need to find people who encourage me to grow, encourage me, and support me. Positive self-talk and conversations can help us to reframe our experiences and find the good in difficult circumstances. This positive outlook should not cross into toxic positivity. I genuinely believe saying, "This simply sucks," is acceptable. Acknowledge the difficulties, but do not become complacent in those hardships. Sometimes life is just hard, but our Marigolds - our PLN - can help us find the sun again. 

Beyond our experiences and immediate community, we also must seek resources and professional development beyond what we can create on our own. 

I am reading and learning all I can on teacher-SEL. I am fortunate to have a partner at home who is skilled in finding work-life harmony. My husband has also gotten into the Glennon Doyle podcast and other SEL-themed podcasts, which has given me a person with whom to dialogue about finding that balance, even in my busy seasons at school. However, teacher-SEL cannot fall on the teachers. This practice cannot be another trend that an administrator adds to the end of a slideshow at the beginning of the year. Practicing self-care is easy to say and add to an agenda item, but it needs to be authentic, and support must be given. Whether that involves attending conferences, joining professional learning networks, or engaging in other communities, we need to find something to engage in self-care genuinely. With decision fatigue, we also need help and support to find these outlets.

Overall, we need to allow ourselves to reflect and understand that we are in the business of people. Our jobs are emotional and draining. We must find healthy ways to release the pressures of our days and fuel our decision-fatigued minds. We need to talk to our colleagues and loved ones, engage in self-care, and shut down our devices more often than we do. 

Teacher burnout is a significant issue that impacts both teachers and students. When we create a culture of trust, take care of our physical and mental health, and acknowledge the emotional intensiveness of our jobs, we can work towards reducing burnout and creating a more positive learning environment for all stakeholders. As educators, we must prioritize our well-being to continue to inspire and support our students to be productive and positive members of our communities at school and beyond. 

Gee - I’d love to organize my Gmail Inbox: Tips for Prioritizing Your Inbox

When July hits, a sense of panic fills countless teachers. Back-to-school shopping and sales will begin. If you're not ready to dive into the 2021-2022 school year just yet, there are a few ways that you can organize your Gmail inbox to prioritize what you see and, more importantly, when you see it. Aside from "out of the office" automated responses, these Gmail tips and tricks are great for summer snoozes and even better organization in the fall. 

Snooze your mail.

Suppose you're not ready to read an email from an admin or don't want to read the tech updates for the fall, no worries! Snooze the email. Schedule the email to reappear when you're ready to read it. Summer is your time to recharge and relax. Everyone has a different process and approach. For me, I like to plan ahead. I work a little bit overtime in the mornings before my family wakes up, and then, after crossing something off my to-do list, I enjoy my days. Some people want to set aside a weekend later in the summer to prepare for the next school year. Whatever the process is for you - follow it. Snoozing your mail allows you to schedule and control your workflow in a manner that makes sense to you. 

Schedule reminders to yourself.

Speaking of pending tasks, scheduling reminders is a great way to create visual to-do lists or remind yourself to complete a time-sensitive task. Scheduled reminders allow us to focus on what is in front of us and not worry about essential actions that need to occur later. I love scheduling reminders about sending out my weekly staff email or scheduling a recurring form to appear at 6 AM when I first look at my email for the day. Other items that I schedule for myself are reminders about the start of the semester, grading periods, and other noteworthy activities that arise - like upcoming PDs and meetings. Scheduling tasks takes the worry or anxiety of forthcoming events off my plate until it is time to give it my attention.

Sort your mail by assigning labels.

I am a fan of folders - physical and digital. I like having critical information sorted into alphabetized, labeled, and color-coded. Putting every piece of information in its place brings me joy and my inner Marie Kondo. At the beginning of the year, especially, teacher inboxes are filled with critical emails from so many entities, with attachments that need to be referenced later—those emails matter. Shorting information into appropriate labels can make finding essential information like health notifications from the nurse, department emails, or committee notes quicker and easier. This sense of sorting reduces the visual clutter in one's inbox and clears the way for more pressing emails and pending tasks that need to be completed immediately. 

Star your inbox to further organize and prioritize your messages.

Starred is a label automatically built into Google. Starred emails have their filter, and they also serve as visual reminders. When using the desktop version of Gmail, users can set the color of the stars. Coding stars based on priority or classification can be helpful for some. I love using stars to indicate that an email contains information or necessitates a response before leaving for the day. Color also brings me joy. The star feature is a quick tool for me that I have found helpful. Again, play with the features provided by Gmail and use the tools that apply to your organizational style. 

Use the priority inbox features to group unread, starred, and other labels as needed. 

A dean wanted help organizing his inbox a few years back. So I began experimenting with the priority inbox feature to support his organizational needs and that this feature can really help anyone who frequently receives a specific type or group of emails. For example, a coach might want to create a label for the sport they coach or the activity they sponsor. Or a teacher might simply want to sort student emails into a separate category from department or administrative emails. To prioritize automated emails for referrals, we created a priority inbox that allowed referrals to appear in a section by itself at the top. Then, all unread emails appeared below. A final third section was designated for opened emails that he started to address later. This process helped him to visualize his workflow and feel organized based on the task he needed to accomplish. While I don't have a section for labeled emails, I do like using the stars. My priority inbox is starred, read, and unread emails. This visualization gives me purpose and becomes a visual to-do list during busy times of the school year. 

No matter how you choose to organize your Gmail and your digital life, don't hesitate to use the tools that are available to you to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the tools. Keeping yourself organized is empowering and can free up your mind to worry about what's happening in the real world AND can allow you to soak up the summer sun, too! We all need a break, and tech tools like Gmail can be leveraged to help ease your mind and snooze a little longer this summer. 

Making Hybrid Learning More Sustainable in 2021

2020 - a year unlike any other. It was exhausting and challenging, and despite those challenges - we learned a great deal. Reframing my mindset has allowed me to find the lessons and positives in uncertain and trying times. As we walk into 2021, I am excited about the possibilities. As educators, we have problem-solved, created, and gained skills to make remote and distance learning happen. Teachers in every discipline and age group have redefined and reinvented learning, making what seemed like the impossible virtually possible. We have reached a precipice in education - a point that will allow us to reshape and reform educational experiences for our students for decades to come. To quote Dr. Desiree Alexander, who recently spoke at Matt Miller's virtual Ditch Summit on the subject, "We aren't due for a huge innovation in education; we are due for a rehaul." Through this experience, we are empowered with the tools and knowledge to drastically improve the quality of education and our teaching modalities in ways that we never thought possible. 

Still, my greatest fear about the spring semester is making our modalities more sustainable. While embracing the possibilities is important and powerful, we need to focus on the present moment. We are still in a pandemic, and while there is certainly a bright light at the end of the never-ending 2020 tunnel, we are not quite there yet. Teachers need to take care of themselves, and they need to take care of the students that fill their seats, both in-person and virtually, this coming semester. As a result, my thoughts are centered around making hybrid learning more sustainable and manageable for both teachers and students. We will have to get everyone to the end of this tunnel before we can fully evaluate the shifts and innovation that will occur once we return to "normal." 

To start, I am still encouraging my colleagues to chunk their lessons week by week. 

Weekly modules provide students with enough content to work ahead or embrace some autonomy over their learning while not overwhelming them. Maintaining small chunks of content also allows teachers the flexibility to adapt and evolve as needed. As districts shift modalities to align with COVID metrics, planning for the short-term will enable teachers to adapt the curriculum without revising their plans multiple times. 

I have also encouraged teachers to make one due date for all work each week. I like grading early in the morning before my family is awake, so I make all of my due dates Saturday at 11:59 PM. Setting due dates for Saturdays allows my students six days to budget when they complete work, with one weekend day to finish any assignments that they did not due during the week. I have Sunday to grade and finalize the next week's module based on my student's progress. Students are encouraged to submit work throughout the week, but I will not cut off their assignments until the final day to maintain consistency and provide flexibility for all students. Based on my end of fall semester survey, students learned that they need to budget their time, use class time wisely, and plan - all valuable executive functioning skills will help them be more successful in any post-secondary endeavor. 

While the Saturday due date works with when I like to grade and fits my family schedule, it is essential to find what works for you. If grading on Monday morning is more manageable, make the deadline Sunday evening, or if you need more time to grade and plan, make the module Friday evening deadline. There is no right or wrong answer, but consistency helps everyone. Not only do my students benefit from this schedule, but so does my family, thus making this schedule more sustainable. 

Another way to make hybrid learning more sustainable is to create asynchronous learning experiences. 

When groups of students rotate in and out of the classroom, creating some asynchronous experiences can allow students who are not physically present to take charge of their learning. I will have 60% of my students out of my room on any given day. As a result, I am creating virtual stations for my students to rotate through when I do not see them sitting in seats. Students will be online, and I will still connect with each of them every day, but having an EdPuzzle, Kahoot, or Pear Deck to do while I complete an in-class activity with 40% of my students will make their learning visible and more valuable. 

I cannot be in three places at once teaching three groups of students, but I can multiply myself through video creation and asynchronous activities. The other benefit is that the resources I create will not be useful for just this year. I will reuse these resources to differentiate instruction and provide enhanced learning experiences for future students. Students can drive learning, and the new pathways built this year and give my students more options as to how to arrive at the same summative assessment. When I know that I am not creating resources that I will never use again, my planning becomes an investment, and thus, it feels more valuable and less draining. 

When students are working asynchronously, they still deserve quality feedback.

 

Formative assessment tools like EdPuzzle and Kahoot can provide automated feedback. Google Forms and many LMS quizzes, Canvas included, can provide students with automatic feedback based on their responses. While it takes time to create this feedback, the automated feedback responses can provide students with tools and resources to review key concepts or take another course of action to help them grow as learners. These automated responses will be useful in future semesters, too. When we cannot be present for our students, we can still make our presence felt. 

When creating feedback, consider making short videos for students in addition to or instead of just leaving writing. Students want to connect with their teachers, and videos can provide students with nonverbals and tone that is not possible with just a written sentence or two. Again, creating these resources is an upfront commitment that can lead to great payoff in student engagement, retention, and relationships between students and teachers. Remember, upfront work can often lead to time-saving experiences moving forward, thus making teaching and learning more sustainable moving forward. 

Another thought on feedback: Challenge students to provide feedback to each other. Students can learn from each other. When they put on the teacher hat, those lessons become even more memorable and impactful. 

Creating more time is always a challenge that I am looking to face, and one way to make more time is to implement blended learning principles.

Another way to create time is to embrace blended learning strategies. In addition to asynchronous experiences, the station rotation model of learning provides students with multiple learning modalities regardless of whether they are in the room or at home. Students can be given a list of activities in the station rotation model that allows them to work independently and collaboratively. Students can move through stations at their own pace, with a group, or in a timed format. When designing a station rotation lesson, I always encourage teachers to create a station that involves direct instruction or conferencing with the teacher. Taking a few minutes with small groups of students allows all students to be heard, ask questions, and receive undivided attention from the teacher. Working with students in this smaller setting also fosters relationships, allows teachers to receive feedback and validation that we are all craving post-2020, and encourages students to continue to be drivers of their learning. 

Moving from station to station also keeps students focused on being more engaged. If they know that they have a limited amount of time or have a list of activities to complete, there isn't time to lose focus. An active classroom makes time go faster and often leads to more productivity. While station rotation is often thought of as an elementary strategy, I do have to encourage all disciplines and levels to experiment with this concept.

 

Finally, make learning visible.  

When learning is visible, teachers can assess students' understanding and can gauge engagement. When learning is visible, students are more accountable for their learning, too. Using tools like Padlet, Google Jamboard, Slides, and Docs allows for multiple contributors to share ideas, collaborate, chat, and create. The learning can come from the class, not just the teacher. Students can communicate with each other, answer questions, provide support, or serve as examples. 

Teachers can better identify who might need support through these tools, too. For example, I use a shareable doc or slide during breakout activities. I can watch all students work and contribute simultaneously, even when I am not in the breakout room. From this display of student learning, I can target groups that need additional support and allow groups working productively to continue the great work they are doing. Visible learning sheds light on where students are with their learning, provides formative feedback, and challenges students to showcase what they know. When students make their learning visible, the pressure is off the teacher to be the sage on the stage to learners in the classroom and at home. We can invite our students to share in the learning process and form relationships in the process when we challenge them to make their learning visible. 

Teaching during a pandemic is exhausting, and it is okay to feel overwhelmed. We are all processing and coping with a myriad of issues. Again, your feelings are valid. When work seems insurmountable, it is okay to close the computer and take a break. We need to model self-care for our students, too. Still, we can find ways to make the next semester more sustainable when we are open to experiment, play, and embrace technology that supports learning in our classroom. Remember, reinventing learning to fit our current modalities of learning does not mean that we have to do everything on our own. What we create today will help us in the future. Focus on today (or one week at a time), challenge students to drive their learning, and find ways to "create time" with your students.

Better Workflow is Just a Hop, Skip, and a Jump Away

Running outside has turned into a live-action game of Frogger, in which I dodge left, right, run down the middle of the street, and even backward to avoid the onslaught of neighbors out for exercise. Seeing so many people taking advantage of our beautiful weather is so positive. Still, it makes sticking to the six-feet-apart rule difficult and a little dangerous when oncoming traffic makes its way down the street. The friendly faces I have waved at from a safe and healthy distance show that we are all making the best of the shelter-in-place order as a community. 

Managing workflow has been an equally challenging process. Unlike the original 1981 arcade game, there is no pattern to the emails, texts, and notifications that appear on one of my screens. Creating a system for balancing engagement with students, providing support to teachers, and connecting with my own three young children is hectic, but there is beauty in the bustle. 

How does one level-up on workflow? Establishing a routine, understanding what obstacles may come into view, and taking the note from Frogger to find metaphoric embankment on which to rest are crucial to this process. Above all, prioritizing relationships, whether that be a quick text with a friend, a video message to students, or playtime with the kids, is essential. Still, there are some ways to earn bonus points in the work-life harmony (or discord) happening in our house. 

1. Create to-do lists or checklists. 

According to The Checklist Manifesto author, Atul Gawande, an effective checklist provides reminders of important procedures and tasks. They are practical. We are receiving notifications on so many platforms right now, and a to-do list or checklist can remind us to complete essential tasks, reinforce routine, and allow us to accomplish goals (minuscule or substantial). As noted by the Business Insider, the act of writing a to-do list at night for the next day alleviates morning stress, allows time to prioritize tasks, and encourages goal-setting (and completion). For me, I love writing, and a majority of my time is spent typing on a computer. The act of physically writing out goals and tasks with a quality pen is relaxing and reinvigorating. While I am often deemed to be a “techie person,” creating and keeping a low-tech paper copy of my to-do list allows me to organize all of the tasks and people I need to communicate with on a given day into one location, which enhances my productivity and my ability to engage with others. And there’s something to be said about the joy crossing off a to-list item can bring. 

2. Take breaks.

Working at home comes with countless distractions. Accomplishing tasks can feel nearly impossible, especially with a full house of people. I am blessed with a five, four, and two-year-olds who bring great joy to my life but also quickly become restless. Taking movement breaks is healthy for them and healthy for me! I live near a half-mile loop that is a perfect distance for a quick walk with a little one. As noted by researchers at Boston University, resetting for 10-15 minutes improves productivity and one's ability to focus. While this study focuses on elementary-aged children, we all can benefit from the message - when movement becomes part of the routine, the benefits become exponential. 

3. Establish a routine. 

Nothing about this global pandemic is normal. How people feel, how they are coping, and how they are staying busy differs from one household to the next. I have seen a statement saying that "Yes, we are all in the same boat, but we are fighting different storms." We all have different work situations, family dynamics, and health concerns. Still, establishing a routine can help increase productivity and one's ability to cope with the present situation. Do events occur to throw our routines off? Absolutely! Being flexible and being in the moment are important, too, but an established schedule can bring comfort, motivate, and even help pass the time. Routines encourage us to form habits. Charles Duhigg writes in The Power of Habit that by creating a routine and a reward for that routine (my reward is crossing items off my to-do list), we can establish powerful habits that lead to increased success and a sense of accomplishment. So, if there was ever a time to make a habit of exercising, eating home-cooked meals, or reading a book from the list of books you've always told yourself you were going to read, now would be the time! 

4. Automate when possible.

Technology can save us time. Using tech tools that provide automatic feedback can allow us to be timely with our delivery of instruction and feedback, which motivates our students to continue to engage. The use of Google Forms automatic grading and customizable feedback can be used to help students assess themselves and provide instructors with useful data. Google Forms free-response questions can also be used to evaluate the social and emotional well-being of students. Kahoot, Quizziz, and GimKit can gamify reviewing major concepts and even entertain students while they demonstrate mastery of a skill or concept, while tools like Padlet provide spaces for students to post a myriad of artifacts and see what other students are posting. Students can even comment on each others’ posts, which places the responsibility of providing feedback on the class’s shoulders and not just the teachers. Flipgrid is another great tool that creates a sense of face-to-face communication, and the feedback does not have to be from just a teacher. Everyone can participate in responding to each other’s questions and interacting with each other. 

I have been trying to find ways to personalize my feedback to students while saving time. Emailing each individual student is a time-consuming process, but I believe reaching out on this platform shows a more personal level of care. I have tried to send a personal email once a week, and in looking to save time, I created a template. I made a message generic and relevant to all of my students who are all seniors in high school, and then I left a spot in which I could write more personal messages to each student. Using my daily attendance feedback, I tried to craft a few sentences that made each email personal to each student. While I cannot do this every day, every effort makes a difference! 

Maximizing the functionality of these tools and many like it can keep the engagement a little higher and allow teachers to be creative in how and when feedback is given to students. Automation does not have to be impersonal and can keep students engaged! 

5. Give yourself grace.

Finally, give yourself grace, give your students grace, and give your family grace. We are all experiencing and grieving so much right now. Processing the state of the world looks different for each person and different from day-to-day. Remembering that we are on this journey together can bring comfort. Allowing yourself to close down the computer and get outside when needed only makes you stronger for the next moment or the next experience. If the internet connection slows, you can respond to an email later. If a lesson flops, create another one for the next day of work. If only one student responds, know that you made a world of difference in that student’s life (and there are probably at least ten more that saw your message and appreciate it). We are in a profession that often does not see the fruits of our labor. This sentiment may ring true even more in remote learning. Remember that whatever you are able to give, provide, and communicate is enough. 

Somehow the game of Frogger has survived through four decades of iterations, and people still seem to want to play it. As I prepare to brave the cold on this day of non-attendance and play my own real-life game of Frogger in the streets, I am reminded that managing my workflow may be a little easier on some days than others. There will always be another email to respond to or an assignment to grade, and for that, I am grateful.