Day 21- April 2, 2020

Day 21- April 2, 2020

Mommy portrait by R.

There was some soccer and R. created a portrait of me on the driveway with chalk while I continued
to read a book about the NY Yankee's 1939 team, and dinner was focaccia bread with tomatoes that I made from scratch.

Focaccia bread with tomatoes and
bell peppers with vegan sausage 

But the most exciting part of today was that R. got to do an online Google Hangout meeting with her teacher and four of her classmates.  It was fantastic to see her interacting with her classmates (even virtually), and it was a brilliant way for the kids to see their teacher and know he was thinking about them.  She sees the letters he sends via email every day, but there's something about real-time talking that changes the dynamic, and makes it more personal.  It's the next step in online learning- adding in the human element.

As an educator, I can see the benefits of online learning, especially at the higher levels.  I have earned a Master's Degree, and most of a second Master's, via distance learning.  As an adult, the flexibility was a godsend.  Not having to leave my two young daughters to drive to class, spend half an hour searching for parking, only to then have to hike half a mile to the classroom on the other side of campus.  Not having to rush from work or after-school coaching.  Being able to type in discussion boards, or write papers, from the comfort of my living room, or bedroom, and take breaks when a tiny person in the house needed hugs was wonderful.

Distance learning can also be useful for high school students who suffer from anxiety, or over-scheduling, or just want to be able to wake up at a normal hour (does anyone know ANY teens who are excited to get up at 6:30 AM?  Or adults for that matter...).  Lecture-style classes can involve teachers pre-recording their teachings, and making themselves available for questions via Zoom or Google Chat meetings.  Years ago, I tried a "flipped classroom", where we met one day a week, I had office hours for one-on-one conferencing, and the students otherwise did work at home according to a syllabus I created.  It actually led to more intense, important conversations when we were together, and the students loved the flexibility.

All that said- I don't know that it's a true substitute for school. I know for sure that in younger grades, where having the teacher there to alleviate fears, offer explanations, and interact is imperative.  But I'm talking more about the other parts of school, beyond the memorization and the Most of us don't necessarily remember the lessons in science or math, but we remember the social-emotional learning we did from our teacher and friends.  And that's just a bunch of teacher-ese for "we remember how they made us feel."

Honestly, when I look back on my education, I know I learned. I retain a lot of what was taught in books, and became second nature to me.  But I feel like the parts I remember the most are the moments with my friends.  I would have chosen my friends over my schoolwork, the laughter over tests, and the shared memories over pretty much anything- laughing so hard I snorted when we were talking about "plot" (this was in third grade, and one of my friends just kept saying "plop"- like the sound poop makes when it drops out of a horse.  I was nine, and it was hysterical); hiding with my seventh grade science class on April Fool's day to trick our teacher (we hid in the guidance office with one of the teacher's best friends so that we wouldn't get in trouble); playing invisible badminton and making videos in French Class (I still can recite all the words associated with cars thanks to one of those).

Blizzard of '96- I tackled him.

That's what I think hurts the most- knowing my kids are missing out on those vital friendships.  For a child (and even a teen), a week can feel like a year. My husband and I started dating at 16, and I looked at him today and said "can you imagine if this had happened when we were in high school?" to which he responded "I wouldn't have let a little thing like a pandemic keep me away from you.  I probably would have just started going to your house every day leading up to it, so I could get quarantined with your family".  This led to a lot of laughing about when he actually did that with his best friend leading into the great blizzard of '96- we knew the storm was getting bad, and they got stuck at my house for three days.

So here, on Day 21, my hope is that this makes us appreciate the relationships- the friendships, the teachers who inspire us, the day-to-day camaraderie of the workplace.  I'm grateful that my best friend is stuck in this house with me, and our two little whirlwinds of personality are here with us.  If I had to choose, I'd choose them.