A hot topic now is not if teachers and students will return to the classrooms, but when will they return to the classroom? Of course, the answers are different from state to state and even from school district to school district. It seems many teachers will have the same students that they greeted at the start of the 2020-21 School Year back in August/September 2020. The classroom was so bright and clean. The teacher had decorated the walls and boards with colorful material related to the new school year activities or to the Autumn season!
This school year is completely different with two returns to the classroom. The first was the summer return and the second one is the Covid return. This will be the second chance to make a first impression! There are a lot of unknowns in the students minds fresh off virtual learning. Their “classroom behavior” has been completely forgotten since they have developed a “home behavior” replacement, which will not work in the classroom. So, the students want to know, will we have to return to the old classroom restrictive learning instruction, which will be problematic after months of less restrictive virtual home learning. This is where the social-emotional problems will tend to be evident by causing disruption in the classroom. The challenge will be to engage students in the new “normal”.
I believe the best second “first impression” embraces the new “normal” and informs the students that the old “normal” is gone forever. Teachers will combine the best of the previous classroom normal with the virtual normal to create the new normal classroom for the return of in-person instruction. Teachers, it will be a big challenge that will require even MORE of your time and effort! I know there are educational technology tools that will assist you to get through these times and even thrive! I want to share these tools with you starting in my next blog. I will provide the information about the tools, and why I think they will work, and let you decide if these tools are right for you and your students!
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Have you had a date set yet for return to the classroom? If so, have teachers been provided preparation time to transition to the classroom. How are you going to create the new “normal” with your students beyond the new Covid protocols? Please share with us by replying below.