Coronavirus Thoughts

This is a weird time. 

I’m a teacher who’s school building is locked up.

I’m a teacher with students I can’t readily communicate with. 

I’m a teacher who is prohibited from teaching new content. 

This is weird.

I have a level of anxiety about the current situation that does not go away. I feel like I need to stay informed, but watching the news can really amp up my anxious feelings. I limit myself to watching a little news here and there each day. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m having unsettling dreams. I have always been one to dream about work, and that’s no different - I dream about school almost every night. The memory of the dreams fades rapidly, but I wake feeling unsettled, like I didn’t really rest at all. It’s just one more weird thing about these times. 

Now, a month after that fateful Friday the 13th, I begin teaching again. 

This week the district begins loaning computers and chrome books to families who need them.

Tomorrow, I will begin putting meaningful work on my Google Classrooms. It will be easy, but everyone will be expected to do it. I am mostly interested in getting everyone participating in learning again. 

If I don’t hear from students, if they do not do the work, I will be reaching out to them directly. 

It’s important that we all keep moving forward with learning. We are learning that school doesn’t have to be in a building. Learning goes on all the time - at home, in the grocery store, on athletic fields, and with your friends and family.

Take a deep breath, don’t let anxiety take over your life, and let’s step forward together into this new, weird and unknown future. 

Please feel free to reach out to me to ask questions, to talk, or just to see a different face. I’m a good listener. 

Contact information: 

Remind: text @497h7k to 81010

Email: mmckellar@lowell.k12.ma.us