I should start by telling you I’ve started a new anxiety medication. Yesterday was the first day and I’ve already noticed a difference. I almost forgot to take the anxiety medication this morning- thankfully I decided to keep it in my lunch bag so I was able to take the morning dose right before class began. I take it in the morning and again mid-day.
We are in a cohort model for hybrid. ½ the students are on campus (if they choose to be, they can always opt to stay home) and the other ½ are at home. The expectation of the teacher is that we log on to the video meeting to greet the students at home, we greet the students in the class, then we teach the students at home and in-class at the same time.
Today for the first-period synchronous class that meant logging on to Google Meet on my laptop, connecting my laptop to the classroom display, greeting the students in the class, teaching to the students in class and those online how to use Adobe Lightroom means sharing my screen to talk through the initial set-up for Adobe Lightroom, juggling the windows so I can see the students at home and their facial expressions while also monitoring the progress of the students in the classroom- this management, juggling process happens for the remainder of the class. If I get up to go help a student in the room I’ve moved away from the camera so students at home are relying only on my voice. Five minutes before the class is scheduled to end I say goodbye to the students in the video call as the students in the classroom clean up their desks to prepare for our clean up and sanitation routine. I distribute paper towels to each student who has cleared their workspace on their desk. I then spray the cleaning solution onto each desk, the student uses the paper towel to wipe down their desk space and takes the paper towel with them to deposit on the garbage can next to the exit door for this space. I have two doors in the space- an “in” door and an “out” door. Most classrooms do not.
Pandemic. Distance Learning. Synchronous. Asynchronous. Cohort. Hybrid….and, turn in your assignments.
Yesterday, today and for the next few days, I am concurrently attending the SIETAR conference– Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research. I’ve been following this organization for a while and this is my first conference. I’m fascinated by the perspective of interculturalism, its similarities/differences with critical race theory, and how it is related to the American based diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that I’ve been part of in independent schools for over 20 years. What I’m learning here is fascinating and seems to be the missing piece to so many of the challenges Americans are facing right now.
What might my country look like if the messaging was – as an American is is your patriotic duty to become interculturally literate? culturally competent?
What if every American knew that the organization of this country is unlike all others- we are not a nation defined by ethnic/racial identity or a predominant religious identity- but an idea that we must recommit to with each generation and with each new immigrant.
What if-?