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Teaching from Beyond the Desk

with Laura DeMars

February SLANTBox Exchange: I Love Education

As a new teacher, I find that I can feel isolated in my own classroom. One thing that forces me to think beyond my classroom and get connected with people outside my school site is the SLANTBox Exchange hosted by Jameson from Lessons with Coffee. If you haven’t signed up for one of these exchanges before, you are paired with a teacher (sometimes two) for the monthly exchange. You spend the month emailing and getting to know your partner. Near the end of the month, you send a fun-filled box that is personalized just for your partner. Each month has a cute theme, and one of the items has to be handmade.

February’s theme was: I Love Education

This month I was paired with Jessica from Simply Preschool. Jessica is a hard-working, loving, preschool teacher in St. Louis, Missouri. I was inspired by her passion and ability to work with such little people on a daily basis. I know that my middle school students exhaust me to no end, and I cannot even imagine working with the tiniest of learners! Throughout the month of getting to know her, I could feel the love for teaching oozing out of her words, and I know that this passion is felt in everything she does. We bonded over our love for all things organization, our connection with Monica Geller (from Friends), and the excitement over colored pens. We also both have a strong desire to travel the world. I’m slightly envious that she will be traveling to Spain soon. I hope you have lots of fun, Jessica!
One of the best things about the end of each month is that I get to come home to a box. I love being able to see how each educator’s creativity comes out with the decoration of the box. When my box from Jessica arrived, I was exhausted, but the bright colors instantly lifted my spirits. 
When I opened my box, I saw some of my favorite things (dark chocolate & colorful pens) and I quickly realized why my two puppies were circling around me. Jessica included a few treats for my girls! There are a few things that I’m not sure how I’ll use, but I’m sure I’ll find a use for them! I am most curious to try the lemon & pepper dark chocolate. It sounds like a strange combination, but I’m sure that it is delicious! 

For all of you that are interested in signing up for the next SLANTBox exchange, Jameson has just opened up March sign-ups (they end on Friday the 6th). I would highly recommend it!

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Comments

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    March 1, 2015 at 8:40 pm

    I love this! Thank you so much for such a fun and honest review of SLANT. It just goes to show that you DO NOT need to connect with people only at yur grade level!

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This is what my schedule looked like today: [afte This is what my schedule looked like today:

[after spending the majority of the weekend working on getting things ready for hybrid learning & communicating with parents]

5:00 AM—Wake up after a restless night.

6:00 AM—Drink 24 oz of water because I know I won’t have time during the day.

7:00 AM—Arrive at school (an hour before contract time) to pass all materials out that students will need (since I cannot move throughout my room), make a key for my seating chart, double check that all assignments were posted for my hybrid (at home) cohort.

8:00 AM—Students start showing up & they don’t even acknowledge me, even though I told each of them good morning, though I can’t greet them like I would in a normal year.

10:00 AM—Watch my students leave for a socially distant recess & cry in my classroom, alone, as there is no one to talk to because we are all on our own recess/lunch schedules.

12:00 PM—Walk to my car to eat, as there is no dedicated space for staff to eat, beyond the copy room, which has a maximum occupancy of 2 people.

12:40 PM—Trying to wipe the tears off my face & put my mask, voice amplifier, and face shield back on.

2:40 PM—Feel like nothing was accomplished today & like a failure today. None of my students even said goodbye.

5:00 PM—At home, feeling defeated & having to spend the evening getting everything uploaded for tomorrow.

This isn’t sustainable. I know I’m not alone in feeling this way.

#teaching2020

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Well, we survived this week. We start in a hybrid Well, we survived this week.

We start in a hybrid model on Monday—which is really stumping me on how to plan for—and there are so many unknowns.

Our Hybrid Model:

💙M/Tues.: Cohort A is on campus & cohort B is at home learning (no live instruction)

🧡Wednesday: Distance Check-Ins

💚Th/Fri.: Cohort B is on campus & cohort A is at home learning (no live instruction).

The planning for this planning has me stumped. We were just getting into a distance learning routine & now all of us are having to switch gears again.

Any thoughts?

#teacherssupportteachers

#teachingin2020

#distancelearning
It was another day, full of new challenges & strug It was another day, full of new challenges & struggles. I keep looking for a new normal & know that it might be a long time until we find it. There is so much chaos & turmoil in daily life, for so many, that it makes you appreciate the glimmers of light. And if you cannot find the light, recognize it in others.

#teachervoice

#teachingin2020

#allinthistogether
After being told repeatedly that if I don’t like After being told repeatedly that if I don’t like the conditions, then leave, I decided to write down my thoughts.

Here is a poem I wrote. It’s been in the back of my mind & I finally just decided it’s worth sharing.

And before anyone comments that “teachers are superheroes”.

Please stop.

We aren’t fictional characters.

We are human. 

The decisions being made are crushing us. 

We are experiencing trauma—just like everyone else during this pandemic. 

The emotional burdens alone placed on us are impossible to bear. 

We are not superheroes.

If I Die Today: The Voice of a Teacher

By Laura DeMars

If I die today, I want to be remembered for the passion I had, and the love that I shared my students, their families, and my school.

To be remembered for the engaging lessons that I prepared & the details I planned.

To be remembered for the inside jokes that we laughed about & the zany outfits I wore.

To be remembered for standing on the desks & dancing across the classroom.

To be remembered for the love of reading & books that we read.

To be remembered for learning about salmon & releasing them into the wild.

To be remembered for the spirit days & class celebrations.

To be remembered for the silliness & handshakes for each and every student.

To be remembered for the Skype calls with guest speakers & working with classes all around the globe.

To be remembered for the my love for education. My love for teaching students.

My care.The small gestures. And those actions that might have meant a lot.

Will this be my legacy?

Or will I just be another casualty?

A teacher without any say in the workload, the plans or the conditions in which we are to teach.

No voice. 

No voice. 

No choice, but to teach. 

No, we don’t want to hear from you, just do your job or leave. 

Burden after burden added to list upon my heart.

My health & safety of those kids are just the very start.

To-do lists are ever growing, 

where does the teaching even fit?

Another burden, added to my list of burdens to bear.

Will anyone notice if their teacher isn’t there?

#teachervoice 

#teachingin2020
This is what my desk looked like at the end of the This is what my desk looked like at the end of the day today. It was clean this morning. In fact, it was clean at the start of my open office hour.

I feel like my brain has too many tabs open & too much to juggle.

I’m checking in with each student.

I’m planning lessons to help support them emotionally.

I feel like I could work 24/7 & I wouldn’t be able to complete the bare minimum demands of my job.

I’m constantly having to respond to district requests and my email inbox constantly is overflowing with unread emails—that need responses—but when is there time?

I made parent phone calls in the middle of independent work time today.

I made parent phone calls during our recess break.

I was writing emails during lunch because there was a time sensitive deadline.

I want to give feedback to my students work they are submitting, but honestly, I’m not sure how to fit it all in.

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How am I supposed to be switching gears in about one week—to a hybrid model—that requires more planning, little to no time to support learning for students that aren’t in the classroom?

Teachers want to be incredible, and they are, but we are super human.

Is anyone else feeling like there’s no support & yet the demands just keep getting greater?

And then my health & risk will be in question? That will be on the front of my mind. 

This job isn’t sustainable—even at the minimum effort level.

And most teachers put in so much more effort.

There’s a reason why there’s not a line of people waiting to do our job.

There is no support.

Every year we’re asked to do a little more with a lot less.

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It’s odd how quickly you can fall into a routine It’s odd how quickly you can fall into a routine, or create a sense of normal—even in a very non-normal situation.

Today I found my self looking forward to our morning meeting & our read aloud discussion time. These are some of my favorite parts of a normal school day.

While distance learning is hard:

💙We are still able to have rich conversations.

🧡We are still able to get to know each other & focus on stress relief techniques.

💚We can still hold space for building a community of learners.

In our distance learning community we are still working on engagement & demonstrating habits of scholars, but I see glimpses of real academic learning happening & that gives me hope.

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I’m feel like I’m watching the scales get read I’m feel like I’m watching the scales get ready to tip in education & for teachers.

Teachers need to stand together.

Our voices MUST be heard.

I’m watching as opening plans are being written & teachers are afraid to speak up.

Teachers naturally want to teach students, but they have the right to feel safe & supported.

Taking every additional request, demand or burden—without question— is not conducive to having high-quality education.

So often, teachers joke about their “teacher voice” & how effective it can be in the classroom.

Why are our voices not being used to set guidelines, when writing opening plans, or discussing the extreme measures & demands for both in-person & distance learning (& BOTH in a “hybrid” option)?

Teachers are resilient & often come up with creative solutions. We are notorious for just making it work—but at what cost?

Teachers can only effectively teach when they are equally supported by the ENTIRE school community

-Colleagues
-Administrators
-Support Staff
-Student Families
-School Board Members

But right now? I’m not seeing that universal support in education.

Maybe it was never there?

Maybe that is part of the problem & challenge to over come?

Maybe the years of budget cuts & undermining public education has now been spotlighted during this pandemic?

Public education is so much more than students & teachers.

The time to use your voice to support education is now.

If you’re a teacher? Use your teacher voice.

If you’re a parent, grandparent or guardian, reach out to your students teachers & see how you can support their classrooms. Get involved.

Band together to support public education. Together, voices can be strong.

#CATeacher #UnionStrong #TeacherVoice #WeareCTA
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