You guys.
It’s getting pretty wobbly around here these days.
Where’s the balance?
Where’s the balance between maintaining high and consistent standards for us all… and being tasked with offering optional opportunities for my students?
Where’s the balance between giving enough meaningful personal feedback to each student to excite and motivate them to keep going… and stepping away from the computer for more than half an hour each day?
Where’s the balance between needing and wanting to meet each student’s individual academic needs… and making sure their hearts and home lives are as safe as possible (or as much as I can realistically influence those pieces)?
Where’s the balance between getting all of my videos recorded and all of my students’ videos responded to… and being done with my school day before 8:30pm?
I know it’s only week 2. I’ve heard horror stories of week 3.
I need to find some balance because what I’ve got going on now…
is not sustainable.
Writing and Laughing 
Oh, I am so with you on this one, and I’m not even a classroom teacher (librarian,here). I am used to dealing with people all day, not a screen. Meetings seem to have multiplied tenfold and take longer due to technical glitches and lots of “show me your cat/child/etc” to ease social distancing. I’m not sure where these folks who are getting all these craft projects are finding the time…I, like you, hope to find some balance soon.
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Here’s hoping this past week has softened for you (and your eyes!). ❤️
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We are just starting after Spring Break. We have a schedule of M/F teacher work days, T,W,Th, home learning days… but scrambling to get it started is exhausting… using new and unfamiliar programs , trying to sort out the tangles of contacting everyone with constant roadblocks of wrong numbers and language barriers and kids not at home but scattered to relatives and caretakers and hard to find… it’s going to take awhile to find some balance. And to remember- you can’t sit at a computer all day even if there’s so much to do.
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I hope that your district realizes this is burning you out and makes changes soon. We went to an A/B schedule and it is more manageable. Thank you for being such a dedicated teacher and being there for your students. It will get better. I think this should make everyone in and out of the profession realize that a lot of instruction resides in the teacher as a person.
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An A/B schedule is intriguing. I’m going to keep that in mind for a future suggestion, thank you. ✨ We’re a public charter school so we have autonomy as far as our choices right now…but we seem to be crumbling under the weight of our normal high and excellent standards. But… This is not the time of normal. Our expectations should change. ❤️
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