Day 18: Silver Lining

The thing I LOVE about Outdoor School (5th Grade Camp to my WA friends) is that I get to have a different relationship with my students.  The good camps are staffed with teachers, counselors, and directors, leaving me available for the highly unlikely emergency. I mean there have been a few, over the years, but mostly I get to wander amongst classes, check in with kids, be silly, laugh louder, and not worry about being the teacher. This year, we should have been at Outdoor School the week that school was canceled. That stung quite a bit as it is one of my very favorite parts of 5th grade. 

This week (all 3 days of it!) has been exhausting in ways I didn’t think possible. How can doing so little be so tiring? I mean, I might be working the same, or more hours, but it is emails, messages, videos, etc.  I’m on tech overload for the first time in my life, and I’ve had moments where I have wanted to scream that I didn’t sign up for this.   But there was one very bright and sparkly silver lining to the week: Google Meet. 

On Wednesday (you know, 100 days ago!), the experience nearly derailed me.  The kids all talked at once, had sisters, dogs, parents, music, EVERYTHING coming across their screens and through the microphone.  And they were so loud! I couldn’t get a word in edgewise to even talk about etiquette or procedures. The first session of office hours nearly did me in. I really questioned how I would survive this twice daily experience.  

In a moment of pure desperation, on Thursday I threw the towel in on having a nice and tidy Google Meet, and we played Kahoot. It sounds brilliant, but it was me grasping at straws. You may be wondering why I’m not teaching during this time, and my answer is long and boring, so just go with it. ;) Anyway, we had THE BEST time. Siblings and parents joined, everyone was loud, and laughing. And that just gave me some absolute perspective.  Letting go of the self-imposed structure I had created in my mind allowed for fun and smiles.

So, for a nice tidy summary, this week I:

• met 6 dogs, 5 cats, 2 pigs

• interacted with 7 siblings (some of which were numbered - hilarious!)

• had more “face time” with some parents than I have had all year

• learned that President Taft got stuck in his bathtub (that made me put down the Cheetos!)

• confirmed that I have zero knowledge of popular music

• learned how to present my screen in Google Meet

• practiced muting someone else’s screen during said Meet (stuff happens!)

• was introduced to Roblox, and made an account

• found out that I have absolutely no gaming tendencies

• understood just how much my students need connections

I’m not sure anyone will ever ask me to play Roblox again, but I laughed until I was crying. This is not Outdoor School. In fact, it may be the polar opposite! I still don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m starting to enjoy doing it.  💜