As this year comes to a close, I am reminded of a long time favorite quote from Mark Twain. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. I don’t know that another quote is more applicable to this year as a whole.
I’ve seen the majority of your children in “our hall” at Stuckey since they were in second grade. They walked past my room each time they went to recess. We’ve seen and done so many things together. We calculated measurement, created recipes, and made lemonade a few years ago. We shared a multicultural buffet and explored at the Springs Preserve. And last year, as we watched the news our lives changed, we felt and understood the impact of a global virus as we had our year cut short. We all had so much apprehension about how we would approach consistent learning this school year.
We started this year in make shift classrooms that included shared bedrooms, kitchen tables, dens, sofas, or any place we thought we might be able to learn. We learned that class may be interrupted by faulty modems, door bells, barking dogs, younger siblings needing attention, or anything in our reach that could draw our attention from the screen, our connection with each other. But, we persisted and persevered.
This year was rough, right? It was frustrating. We hit road blocks so many times as we attempted to learn. But, we all learned. We all became part of that productive struggle that we implore our students and children to endure to become better problem solvers. In hindsight, we approached and struggled with the concept of productive struggle, just like the kids have historically struggled. In truth, this is probably not the self reflection we are ready to undertake at this point, but I think it will be as the sting from this year’s frustration eases. The enormity of what we’ve learned as educators, students, and parents is possibly immeasurable.
I feel I did not get enough time with your students. I wanted field trips, group discussion at desks with true expression and understanding, and meetings on the carpet when we needed to work through things. I worried consistently about being able to make meaningful connection through Google Meets with your children. Amazingly, that connection was made. We connected in a way I could not have imagined. We survived together. Consequently, I feel a different type of connection to these students, one unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
So, though this year has come to a close, and as some of you know, my time at Stuckey has also come to a close as I am moving to a school a little closer to my home (the drive post COVID really wore on me, enough to make a change), the bonds we’ve created this year are never ending. I’ve encouraged your students to keep sharing their successes and frustrations with me. I want to hear all about them. Classcraft will likely ever be a part of my classroom, and your students can message me, or send an email, whenever they need an ear or just to be heard.
Thank you for sharing this year with me. Thank you for raising incredible human beings. Thank you for trusting me with your student’s education. They make me a better person each day. Have a wonderful summer.
With love,
Ms. Boelter
Ms. B. in Class 