You Could Be Llamas, For All I Know

I have fifty-one 7th graders in my science classes.

I have never heard most of their voices and I have seen only a handful of their faces on camera.

In a few cases, I wasn’t sure if they were male or female until someone told me. 

The vast majority of them could be llamas, for all I know.  

That’s my working hypothesis at this time.

I have at least worked with my 8th graders in person, so I know they are people. (Most of them, at least.)

I mean, to be sure, they would have to be some pretty darn talented and articulate llamas, who clearly know how to read, type and draw diagrams. (How on Earth can they do that with hooves instead of fingers?)

In any case, I have very little evidence that they are not llamas.

I did say hello to them as they passed through the halls as 6th graders, and I don’t recall any llamas walking past me, but you never really know, ya know? Maybe, I was too focused on finding 50 different ways to say hello and good morning and missed all the pack animals bundled up in their winter coats.

I have had some parent meetings where I did get to see students on camera, and they were not llamas, but that’s a pretty small sample size - not really statistically significant. 

I guess if we get back to in-person school, I’ll know for sure, but for now, I’m assuming all my students are llamas. 

What Student Engagement Looks Like

 Student engagement during remote learning is a thing. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Teachers know it when we see it and we can tell when it’s not there, but it can be a challenge to communicate that idea to some students.

Engagement looks like getting your work done, asking questions about the work or what we’re learning. It looks like students participating in class, commenting in the chat, or turning their cameras on (even if just to say hello). Engagement means thinking about the work we are doing and considering how this might apply to you, your daily life and your future.

When we’re together in a classroom, engagement is easy to spot and probably easier for you to give. We are finding that learning from home has lots and lots of distractions - brothers and sisters, gaming systems, phones, extra nap time, handy snacks and lots of other things. 

Maybe it’s easier to describe what engagement does not look like…

• It’s not joining a zoom class, and not participating, not responding to messages in the chat or on your device, or not replying to verbal call-outs in the zoom class. 

• It does not look like playing PS4 or Xbox during school hours. 

• Engagement is not taking naps or letting yourself fall asleep and missing classes or independent work time. (Hint: Staying up all night, will make it harder to stay awake during school hours)  

• Being engaged does not mean spending lots of time in your phone when you should be paying attention in class or doing your work.

• For sure, student engagement is not just vegging out and letting time slip away. 

Not feeling like you can engage might come from not feeling motivated. If you feel stuck, like you’re so far behind that you’ll never catch up, talk to your teachers. Go to office hours, ask to meet with teachers privately. 

I have been seeing more engagement by more students, but there are still a large number of 7th and 8th graders who are not engaged in learning. 

Your future’s coming whether you’re ready or not. If you engage a little now, you can save yourself a whole lot of headaches later. 

Remember, don’t be a Jarrod….

No After Class Work Monday

I will not be giving you work to do after class on Monday.

I have a different kind of assignment for you: Pay attention.

Yes, pay attention because Tuesday is Election Day in America. It’s the day we choose our government.

Now, this might seem more like a social studies assignment but, as I keep saying, everything we do in school is interrelated. No subject stands alone, divorced from the others. ELA supports science, science supports music, music supports social studies, etc.

Science issues have been at the heart of this election cycle - I mean, we’re in the depths of a pandemic, right?  Climate change, fracking, renewable energy sources, health care and a host of other issues have permeated the presidential campaign. 

Watch the TV coverage. Read about the candidates and issues - local, state and national. Elections make a difference. They make the future.

No one knows what to expect on Tuesday or the following days and weeks. It might be chaotic. It might be scary. It’s worth your time to pay attention to what’s happening. 

The future is more yours than mine, you might want to start thinking about what kind of America you want to live in.

You can’t vote yet, but you can pay attention.