Teachers know the feeling. It’s Sunday night. You want to be lazy and watch football (okay, that’s MY feeling anyway). You don’t want to go back to school the next day. It’s not that you dislike your job or dislike kids; you just want to make the weekend last just a little bit longer. You enjoyed yourself and you are not quite ready to jump back into the swing of things.
Last night, I felt that way. It was the last day of Spring Break, which in our new world of online education is a fairly loose concept to begin with. Still, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t ready to go back. We had walked. We had gotten things done around the house. As I said before, we have two bike-riding children now. It was a great break even under the circumstances. It was time to head back to reality.
I guess given that feeling, I shouldn’t have been surprised when I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. It was about 6:40 AM, which for what it’s worth would have been dreadfully late had I been driving to work. Instead of being grateful, I was grumpy. I was tired despite ridiculous amounts of coffee. I was trying to work in the basement with kids playing and distractions all around me.
When my wife and kids went for a walk, I felt much better. I finally felt like I could have peace and quiet. However, it wasn’t long until you could hear the door open and footsteps all around. It was my daughter, who had gone home early from her walk to use the restroom and eat lunch. Her request was a grilled cheese sandwich and Paw Patrol yogurt.
She hadn’t asked for much (and she asked nicely), so I took care of it. Soon my son was back and wanted to play in the basement some more. Suddenly I could feel myself going crazy. It was no one’s fault but my own. It was a product of the circumstances. We have plenty of house, but it doesn’t stretch quite as far when you work from home. I began to remember why my time working for an online high school didn’t go the way it should have.
A little after noon, I decided it was time to act. My wife has an old antique desk and we have six chairs around the dinner table (for four people). In minutes, the desk and a chair was in the guest bedroom. I needed somewhere quiet and besides, the circumstances sort of indicate we won’t be having any guests anytime soon. Suddenly some sanity, if only a little, brightened up my day. I was still interrupted pretty regularly by my daughter, but at least I had a corner that was calm and peaceful.
On our afternoon walk after my “work day” was over, I was able to tell my wife my frustration in being continually interrupted, and explained that even though I know the reality of our situation, I still have a lot of adjusting to do. I felt a lot better and then we had an amazing dinner (my wife made some amazing homemade ramen).
I think the moral of the story today is that I’m not good at this. You might not be good at this. I have a feeling that most people are not good at this. I am hoping throughout this process that my students (and their parents) will give the teachers a whole lot of grace as we try to figure out what the best way to go is. We are learning new software in new rooms with new distractions and new schedules.
Meanwhile, many of you are becoming teachers at home yourselves. I’m guessing you’re not good at this. If I’m a paid certified teacher and am not good at this, I can’t even imagine how most parents feel. So consider this a word of grace to you. Whenever I was absent, I always told people that if “a few of the kids learned something and my room didn’t burn down, I consider the day a victory.” So parents, teachers, kids, and anyone who is listening, I just want to throw out one question. Was today a victory?