I knew I wrote a post titled, “We’re back!” at some point last year, after some Covid transition. Sure enough, a quick search at my past blog posts showed that, indeed, I had. It was March 10, 2021. Right around this time last year. Our school was settling into a post hybrid schedule and at that time it felt like we were getting back to normal.
This year has been anything but normal. Maybe we expected it would be, but so far it has been a year of unsettled. In a normal year, usually by mid-October, the school settled. Routines and procedures were established. Kids were bonding with their new classmates and teachers. Communities were forming. This year, every time we get close to settling, something has thrown us off balance again- Covid outbreaks, variants, mitigating measures, assessment windows, breaks, conferences, mask choice.
Last week, we had a staff developer from Teachers College visit and we turned our attention to writing. Earlier in the year, we had mostly been talking about “shifts” in reading and phonics instruction. But it was time to return to writing. Pre-Covid, we had been making a lot of headway in the area of writing. We had been working hard to build students’ volume and stamina. We had revisited the writing process as a school and were helping kids discover their own personal processes. Revision was becoming something kids were excited to try. We were growing.
Then, Covid put a damper on a lot of that. Writing was hard to address when we were virtual. Last year’s inconsistencies didn’t help. Which brought us to the present, where it sometimes feels like we are just surviving writing units…getting through pieces. Session after session with our staff developer reminded us of where we had once been and the work we needed to do to get back there. Every grade we met with agreed that volume and stamina was a priority along with habits of independence.
In a follow up email, the staff developer reminded us that the real work of professional development is in the work following the actual PD. Let me just tell you…that work this week has left me feeling excited and hopeful. There is a lightness that has returned that I haven’t felt in such a long time.
This morning, I met in a grade level meeting with our first grade team. Together we reflected on the work they had been doing all week. Lynn shared about a shared writing experience we tried together the day before. Lynn is always a ray of sunshine and a champion of our literacy work. As she shared about the work her kids did following our shared writing session, she rallied her team.
Soon, I was signed up to try some shared writing in other classes that very day. Each session with the kids felt like we were back, like coming home. Kids gathered around the carpet, turning and talking as they shared ideas, testing out transitions and powerful language. The follow up conversations I had with teachers afterwards told me that things were changing. I could see them reimagining their routines and instruction. They saw possibilities. No longer were we stifled by all of the obstacles that had been holding us back for so long now.
I’m hopeful that a feeling of settled will finally find us as we approach the last few months of this school year.
Where There's Joy 
The uncertain times, interrupted progress and upset routines can pull one’s enthusiasm down. The kind of feeling you speak about is so necessary to keep going. I wish your hope will turn into reality.
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A colleague and I were recently leading a session for some first and second year teachers at our school. She remarked on the capacity of some colleagues to approach the practice of teaching with a spirit of finding a constructive way forward despite the circumstances. I like that idea, and this piece helps me reflect on the fleeting nature of feeling settled.
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All the things… I want to have coffee and talk about all of this. The shifting, the loss and upheaval of the last two years and most importantly, the glimmers… the small wins.
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The energy in this slice matches the energy on you face when you talked about the grade level yesterday afternoon! The looking back to remember where we were is so important right now. So thankful that we are we are now and we can begin to grow again — teachers, children, writers.
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They saw possibilities because one of your many strengths is helping people see them. Your slice reminded me of our theme this year of trying. Teachers are lucky to try so many things with you,
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Totally agree. Even took days, the hiccup continues.
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I’m hoping the feeling is settled stick too!
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Hooray! Here’s to rallying, moving forward and then settling into a great routine.
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It’s good to think that maybe some of the challenges you listed are behind us. Some were out of everyone’s control…and some were our own doing. To be past the conferences and the testing window means a little less clutter and stress in the path ahead. Thanks for keeping your eye on the positive parts of the learning.
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