In these unusual times it’s hard to maintain a sense of normality. Whether you are thinking about venturing out to get some groceries or struggling to come to terms with new rules of socialisation. We are all facing challenges.
In Switzerland we are rapidly changing our daily lives and that is scary!!.
On Friday the 13th of March at 08:15 it was announced that our school would close at the end of the day.
At midnight on Monday the 16th of March all but essential shops and facilities closed.
On Wednesday the 18th of March our online classrooms commenced.
On Friday the 20th of March restrictions were put in place to limit social contact to no more than 5 people.
But on Monday the 23rd of March one of my students participated for the first time online.
As educators we are finding this a challenging time but I cannot imagine how my students who exhibit challenging behaviour on a ‘normal’ day are reacting to this situation. I am so proud of them for even managing to log on to virtual classrooms and deal with the chaos of 20 or more 7 year olds getting to grips with muting and unmuting microphones while realising we might have to take turns. That is why it is even more important in these times to celebrate the small successes for our challenged students.
A colleague shared something on social media along the lines of…
When considering how our students are working in virtual classrooms please remember that this is not an educational emergency. It is a health emergency. Our students will continue to learn and our job is to ensure that they remain connected.
If a student just needs to listen to a teacher online… that is okay! If a student finds the online environment overwhelming with the whole class online together it's fine to have them be passive participants… reach out later in the day and have some dedicated short online time with them one-to-one. It's paramount that they still are included in the class. Always be conscious of safeguarding issues and ensure a parent is also present.
Flexibility is a skill that needs to be learned. Today we have new challenges and new ‘normals’. By being flexible in our thinking we can ensure our students' needs can be met. We just need to step back, breathe and think about the best way for all of our students.
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