Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced at 4 PM on Friday, March 13 that Illinois schools would close starting Tuesday, March 17 through Monday, March 30 (this has now been extended through April 7). This announcement gave schools all over the state little time to prepare for what to do for kids who would not be in school. Since these were called "act of God" days, there were no requirements for schools to provide instruction. And in fact, some schools did just that -- nothing. But lots of schools started a mad scramble to learn all they could about what e-learning looks like and what tools could be used to deliver e-learning instruction. That's exactly what my school district did.
Speaking for myself, I spent all last weekend reading about e-learning to understand the best way to structure e-learning lessons for students. And believe me when I say there was a LOT out there to read. I worked to synthesize what I learned to share it with teachers in my district. Then I spent the rest of the time looking at the myriad of tools out there and tried to narrow them down to a short list of easy-to-use, effective tools for students AND teachers. And then I worked on putting together what I could for teachers and students so when we were all in school on Monday, we could do some front-loading before we separated from the kids at the end of the day. I can't say for certain what other teachers in my district did, but based on the high level of successful learning that happened this week, I would say they all did the exact same things I did. Everybody researched, synthesized, constructed, and collaborated so when we did our first e-learning lesson Wednesday (Tuesday was a teacher institute day), it was a success. High levels of participation (over 90% attendance, and some teachers individually reported 100% attendance) and quality learning taking place (for a sample, check out the Twitter hashtag #CSD17Learns).
We also managed to arrange getting devices to families who needed them for e-learning as well as meals for students who needed those, too. Arranging everything required the work of literally every staff member -- teachers, administrators, custodians, secretaries, cafeteria staff, social workers. Everyone mobilized throughout the weekend, came to school to serve our students Monday, then used Tuesday to finalize the plans. Every day, we debriefed and fixed what needed fixing. This required all of us to work well beyond a traditional day. Most of us were working from 7 or 7:30 in the morning until well after dinner time.
And nobody complained. In fact, everyone really celebrated. We knew we were still connecting with our students and their learning was continuing. Parents got involved and supported what the teachers were doing, too, and that is why we had such a successful week.
I have never been more proud to be an American public school teacher than I am now because I witnessed and experienced a level of dedication and commitment to kids this week that defies explanation. And when I saw this post on social media, I felt I had to reiterate what is said. Teachers ignored obstacles to learning and made sure their kids still got the best possible education available, one these kids have a right to.
In my district, we are on spring break this coming week. We are all telling each other to rest, relax, and enjoy this week off because we earned it. But I know that I will have some rest time, but I will also be working to make sure that when we "return to school" on March 30, there are meaningful learning experiences in place for my students. All the teachers I work with will be doing the exact same thing over spring break, I am sure.
Because that's what teachers do. We work tirelessly for our students.
Speaking for myself, I spent all last weekend reading about e-learning to understand the best way to structure e-learning lessons for students. And believe me when I say there was a LOT out there to read. I worked to synthesize what I learned to share it with teachers in my district. Then I spent the rest of the time looking at the myriad of tools out there and tried to narrow them down to a short list of easy-to-use, effective tools for students AND teachers. And then I worked on putting together what I could for teachers and students so when we were all in school on Monday, we could do some front-loading before we separated from the kids at the end of the day. I can't say for certain what other teachers in my district did, but based on the high level of successful learning that happened this week, I would say they all did the exact same things I did. Everybody researched, synthesized, constructed, and collaborated so when we did our first e-learning lesson Wednesday (Tuesday was a teacher institute day), it was a success. High levels of participation (over 90% attendance, and some teachers individually reported 100% attendance) and quality learning taking place (for a sample, check out the Twitter hashtag #CSD17Learns).
We also managed to arrange getting devices to families who needed them for e-learning as well as meals for students who needed those, too. Arranging everything required the work of literally every staff member -- teachers, administrators, custodians, secretaries, cafeteria staff, social workers. Everyone mobilized throughout the weekend, came to school to serve our students Monday, then used Tuesday to finalize the plans. Every day, we debriefed and fixed what needed fixing. This required all of us to work well beyond a traditional day. Most of us were working from 7 or 7:30 in the morning until well after dinner time.
And nobody complained. In fact, everyone really celebrated. We knew we were still connecting with our students and their learning was continuing. Parents got involved and supported what the teachers were doing, too, and that is why we had such a successful week.
I have never been more proud to be an American public school teacher than I am now because I witnessed and experienced a level of dedication and commitment to kids this week that defies explanation. And when I saw this post on social media, I felt I had to reiterate what is said. Teachers ignored obstacles to learning and made sure their kids still got the best possible education available, one these kids have a right to.
In my district, we are on spring break this coming week. We are all telling each other to rest, relax, and enjoy this week off because we earned it. But I know that I will have some rest time, but I will also be working to make sure that when we "return to school" on March 30, there are meaningful learning experiences in place for my students. All the teachers I work with will be doing the exact same thing over spring break, I am sure.
Because that's what teachers do. We work tirelessly for our students.
