education

This year has been difficult for everyone. That includes anyone in education: teachers, administrators, counselors, students, staff, and parents.

And for many of us who teach and work in South Carolina schools, yesterday was the day when our morale hit an all time low.

As educators we watched our governor and some of our elected officials tell us that we did not do a good enough job in the spring of 2020. They told us that despite our best efforts to literally change our entire way of teaching in one weekend, what we did was not enough. We were told we failed (well, a D-, but that’s close enough).

I cannot speak for every school or every teacher, but I can speak to what I witnessed. I can speak about what I saw happen during the three months when school buildings may have been closed, but school was certainly open.

Spring 2020 was an incredibly stressful time, much like now. We did not do everything right, but we did do so many wonderful things, especially given the information and resources we had at the time. And I KNOW that we helped so many of the students of the students we teach and love.

So, if you did not have a chance to witness firsthand what happened in education in the spring of 2020, please let me share JUST SOME of the things that I know teachers and other educators in our schools did this spring.

I know AT LEAST ONE EDUCATOR who . . .

Drove to each of her student’s homes to deliver books for them to read
Met with students online at all hours to help them learn
Learned new ways of teaching she’d ever tried before
Coordinated an online meeting with a guest speaker to help his students learn about social justice
Spent hours learning and practicing with new online tools that would help their students
Recorded himself and his lessons so students could watch and rewatch the videos when they needed to
Guided students successfully through the first ever at home online AP exams
Called students and parents repeatedly to check on them and sometimes just to listen
Supported students who were caring for siblings, parents, and grandparents
Created entirely new lessons to address standards she’d taught successfully in person for many years.
Attended social distanced graduation and birthday celebrations for their students
Collaborated by phone and online with other teachers to create the best learning experiences possible under the circumstances
Created websites of new resources for students, parents, and other teachers
Mailed students hand written personal notes of encouragement
Met groups of students online after schools hours because those students took care of younger siblings and neighbors when parents were at work
Attended online webinars to learn more about how to teach and help students
Spent her own money on educational materials for herself and her students
Set up a classroom sized whiteboard in his home to use to teach
Coordinated and attended online Individual Education Plan (IEP) and 504 meetings so students could continue to receive the special services and accommodations they need
Rearranged space in her house to have a place to teach
Used their personal money to purchase school supplies for students
Taught her own children from home while still teaching her 150 high school students
Met one-on-one with other teachers to help them learn new tools and strategies
Replied to hundreds of emails from students and parents
Helped families get access to computers and at home internet
Stood outside school buildings for hours on multiple days to distribute books, learning materials, and meals
Used their own money to purchase or upgrade their home internet and other “necessities” so they could work from home
Took engineering projects home to finish them in her own workshop
Modeled resiliency and growth for students
Helped other educators
Made a difference in the life of a student