418 - My Journey from, “I HAVE to, to I GET to!”

It’s 6:00 am on May 3, 2021. My alarm goes off, which is completely unnecessary as I have been awake in anticipation of my day. It has been 418 days since I have left my home to go into a school to do the work that drives me. I chose my outfit days in advance, planning to wear real clothes down to actual shoes. I selected my most practical bag for my things (a backpack) which might need to be carried with me throughout my day. I made my lunch with special care. All of this is done by 3:00 pm the previous day. New to the routine, I packed a few masks.

Like a kid on their first day of school, I am a mix of excitement and nervousness. 

418 does not disappoint me. Fittingly, I am returning to the last location that I worked at in person on March 12, 2020. Except when I arrive, nothing is the same. The old building has been demolished, and this school is housed in a brand new building. While the edifice that greets me is impressive, shiny, and new, what makes it a school is what I find inside. People. I am among people. Lot’s of them. I experience a wave of emotions as I walk in with the bus line. “Good morning! Happy Monday!” I cannot help but begin chatting with the children as they file in.

My role this day is to connect in person with the teachers I have continued to support over zoom for the last year. Armed with a well crafted schedule of visiting classrooms to offer support and feedback, I walk into a first grade classroom. Their teacher shouts, “Dr. Looney! You are here! In PERSON!” The children who have never met me chime in, and one little girl says with the complete sincerity that only a first grader can muster, “The honor is all ours today, Dr. Looney.” I approach this child with a thank you, and she continues, “My mommy is a nurse and she saves people’s lives.” I am once again overcome with emotion as I know I am where I am meant to be. I have missed this beyond measure. I GET to go to work again. I GET to be with people again. I GET so much of my life back. Not everyone made it through the pandemic, but I did.  

I want to cement into my memory this feeling of day 418. 

There is, however, another side to this - an elephant in the room. This is the elephant who is standing with me and saying all kinds of devastating things like, “We are so far behind. What are you going to do about that?” There are the ever-present Joy Robbers whispering, “Don’t catch your breath. You have to keep scrambling. There are so many things wrong, and there’s so much to do.” After all, as the principal of the building informed me, state testing begins next week.

The media, the politicians and the decision makers are all reminding us of “learning loss.” Well guess what? I’m not having it. I am choosing joy. I am choosing to craft a journey forward that is steeped in all that has been learned over the last 418 days. What I saw on this one day in this one school, completely affirms that we ALL HAVE GAINED during this time.

What exactly have we gained?

For starters, classrooms feel like connected families. This was palpable in so many ways, such as when students were patient with teachers reaching out to students who are learning remotely and being blended into the lessons. Educators have learned how to integrate families into the instruction, viewing each other as allies in the work of supporting students. Teachers have learned to celebrate those things that are working and lift each other up. Time after time teachers have reported to me that they are working together for the first time in their careers, and that they could not have done this work otherwise. Teams of educators are working to reach all students, and are adjusting their approach and activities to cast a wide net that brings everyone along. The use of technology on the part of teachers, students and families is state of the art, miles away from the world of the 2019-2020 school year.

The future is bright! As we take all of this forward, we are amazing educators. All of this will continue, because we have learned out of necessity, and we have seen success.

There is one more thing that is perhaps most important. And maybe, this will keep that elephant and those Joy Robbers quiet. Schools are REALLY TALKING about equity gaps. The stark difference in opportunities when working in remote learning laid bare the inequities that must be addressed. We can expect that the distance and the pandemic will prove to have a greater impact on those that are the most marginalized. We are obligated to take action. But let’s be honest. The gap is not new. Many have been been attempting ineffective efforts to change things or worse, ignoring the inequities. The question of how we close gaps and provide equitable instruction and opportunity has been begging for an answer always. We have an opportunity to reimagine education and to implement true reform that serves ALL students.

The time is now. We now have a year of experience with an arsenal of knowledge and tools: Classrooms functioning as Communities, Families operating as Allies, Colleagues Supporting each other as Partners, Technology being used to Transform Instruction, and a Commitment to Reaching All Learners.

I am not fooling myself believing any of this is easy, but who ever said education was supposed to be easy? It is hard work because it matters. It is a calling that comes from a deep desire to shape the future by uplifting, celebrating and inspiring young people. 

As I finished day 418, I continued to be enthusiastically embraced by the school that welcomed me in with air hugs, shouts of hello, proudly showing me what they have done and learned. How lucky am I that I GET to do this work?

I recently purchased the book Strength-Based Teaching and Learning in Mathematics which provides the tools needed to reframe the conversation. In the opening chapter, the authors share a quote that resonated with me. They are the words from the poet Muhammad Hafiz from the 14th century,

“The words we speak become the house we live in.”

We GET to choose the narrative, the words we use, the house we live in. 418 is a pretty awesome place to live! I think I’ll settle in here.