Is Your Kid Really ‘A Joy to Have in Class’? - Probably Not

Teachers, we’re not worthy for all that you do. In celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week, both our mugs and minds are lifted up in honor of you.

Life hasn’t been anything near normal for teachers, students or parents who continue to give and take classroom delivery at home(school). Everyone got a crash course in Zoom and Google Classroom and trying to stay on top of due dates, grade, grading and assignments is exhausting.

Here are some survival tips in getting through home(school) hell one day at a time until we all meet again next “year”.

·         Cancel any unnecessary parent teacher conferences. Seriously, it can wait. Let’s just get through this school year because we’re almost there.

·         Support your teachers by sending them a thank you email. A few kind gestures go a long way and might help turn that failing grade into a passing one. No promises, though.

·         Do the best you can with what you have. There will be times when your kid can’t attend the meeting because it conflicts with your work from home schedule, or an assignment got missed because the upload attempt didn’t work like you thought. Be easy on yourself and them.

·         The teachers miss the physical day to day interactions with the online students in their classrooms. Teachers chose this profession because they care about teaching fresh, young minds. They’re missing end of year hugs, graduation ceremonies, chaperoning, field trips, noisy lunchrooms and library books from online learners more than parents and students could ever know.

Thank a teacher this week because life would not be the same without them. They’ve put up with the little monsters all year and now we’re getting to see it firsthand that our kids are likely not actually “a joy to have in class” - like we assumed that they were before that first homeschool bell rang.