The New Bag of Teacher Tricks

It’s the topic on everyone’s mind. What will the new school year look like? The truth is NO ONE knows. It’s true; no one has any idea what it will look like. From state department decision makers to superintendents to lunch staff to bus drivers - no one can say for sure.

We have ideas based on the most recent suggestions, but that’s all we really have. Most teachers are normally prepared for the first few weeks of school in May before school’s even out for summer. We make pacing guides. We order new supplies for the next year. We plan for our new classroom theme. Many of us even start making our new students’ organized folders or binders before we know their names.

Summer isn’t all nap time and swimming in the pool. Don’t get me wrong, I do those things too, but it’s the time when my fellow teachers and I prepare and plan. It’s the time when we go to conferences and professional development workshops. It’s also the time when many of us prepare, plan, and get summer jobs to make extra money to help pay the bills. I know teachers who are also waitresses, summer camp counselors, Uber drivers, jewelry and makeup super-sellers, and the list goes on. We do all of this gladly, but this summer is different. This summer is like no other summer before. Due to  the pandemic, we are left stranded between our practiced methods and the unknown.

So many of us are struggling where to start. Most of us are starting to digitize all of our lessons while preparing for  the possibility of paper packets. We are getting Google certified. We are filling our Amazon Wishlist and carts with child-sized face masks because we know some of our students can’t afford paper and pencils let alone protective gear. We are watching endless YouTube tutorials of how to create shielded offices or plastic face shields made from lamination sheets.  We are rearranging our classrooms so our 25 to 30 desks are 6 feet apart with no one facing anyone else in 20’x 30’ rooms (if you’re lucky enough to have that much space). We are asking for Bible Verses to fill our teacher planners. We are doing anything in our power to create a new normal for our students. We are thinking through all of the possible situations and trying to create procedures. We are trying. We will continue to try, and if the situations change, we will too.

The only thing that will remain a constant through all of this craziness is the love that teachers and school staff have for each and every child in that building. We care about them while they are with us and when they go home. I’ve prayed a similar prayer every night since I started teaching:

“God, please be with all of my students. Let them go to bed with full bellies and have a warm roof over their heads. Please keep them safe.”

I have said the prayer so often that when my children were little they would also pray for my students.

One teacher mantras is that we will do anything to teach our students. We will steal, beg, or borrow. So, teacher friends, what will be in your new bag of teacher tricks? Let’s share all of the things that we are doing this summer to prepare for the new school.