Ah, the chatter, the lost eyes, the smiling faces, the please-don’t-talk-to-me-I’m-looking-for-my-friends-look, the high fives, the squeals of laughter, the “please use inside voices” or “walking feet” echoing through the crowded hallways while students choose to ignore the teachers’ demands, and lost, but wide-eyed hopeful 6th graders with their new schedules in their hands. Regardless, we all had the welcoming smiles that shined from our hearts into every hallways of the school. That is the way I remembered it in 2018 – 2019 — in the beginning of each school year — during my first years as a secondary educator (first as a student teacher, and then as a para educator). Then in February, 2020, Covid-19 hit, and it hit hard in our learning communities. It changed the way we teach. It changed the way learn. It changed us.
When our school district went back to in-person halfway through the school year, it was – in a way – a bit like the first day of school. But this time it was different. It felt like a ghost town. As the buses drove in, my heart nearly broke and I wanted to cry. The buses were not full. The children were distanced apart in their seats. Like a funeral procession, the buses quietly drove in. What is usually filled with noise, laughter, and sometimes music (because some bus drivers will turn up their music), it was not like that at all. It was eerily quiet.
The SPED (special education) team and I stood outside of the classrooms and waited for the students to unload their buses. We were on one side of the school and the other staff members were on the other. We were all distanced apart. It felt strange and awkward to be together nearly after a year of school closures. We were together, but we were apart. We all felt it, but it was our job put a smile on our faces — or rather, smile with our eyes — to make sure that every child felt welcome.
I noticed that the principal — who usually used his booming cheerful voice to greet noisy, overly-excited students — is now sternly instructing students to stand on the markings on the ground for social distancing (see photo below). Not that he needed to be stern. The students were actually very quiet. But behind their masks, I couldn’t tell if they were excited or not. However, their eyes seem to have a look of hopelessness. They seem to have doubts about what lies ahead for them…their future. In the same photo, if you look over to the right, you might notice a person with a clipboard. The students lined up in front of that staff member who took their temperatures and turn in their affidavits from parents who said that they do not have Covid-19 symptoms.
As without a doubt, every school has gone through their own version of a new “life” a new “norm.” This was our new life at the middle school. This is how it was done for the rest of the year. It’s our new normal. At least parents are happy that their kids are back. At least the teachers are finally in their second homes. At least finally…we felt like social human beings again. But we were different. We all felt it. Covid-19 changed us.
As the new school year — 2021-2022 — begins, we all anticipate and await, yet again, new routines. I will continue to blog about my first days; but in the meantime, I am putting up more of my lessons to view. Thanks for visiting and I wish you all the best for a new school year as we start fresh.
AAPI Teacher 