Everything You Need to Know to Survive This Upcoming Season
For teachers and students alike, there are mixed feelings about the return to schools. Some people are desperate to get back, clambering for a bit of normality, and eager to be in the company of peers again. For others, the thought is paralyzing them with fear – perhaps they’ve spent so long in isolation they no longer know how to communicate easily, or maybe they thought of catching COVID itself is leaving them terrified.
Whatever the situation, as teachers, we need to recognize that there are difficult times ahead. Peoples’ lives have been turned upside down for over a year. And THAT will not come without its repercussions.
However, thinking positively, we must see the return to school as a step towards the return of normality, even if that is the ‘new normal’…. So how do we get ourselves ready to survive the term?
Well, I see this as a three-stage preparation, well actually make that a six-stage, because for each stage you are preparing both for you and for the students, and the stages are:
• Staying Physically Healthy
• Staying Mentally Healthy
• The curriculum and its delivery
Stay Physically Healthy
First things first, there is lots of information available on the CDC website that are a great resource for both you and your students that can all be accessed here.
As schools prepare to open their doors, you must ensure that you are familiar with all the ways in which you can stay healthy. At the beginning of the pandemic, we all became experts at washing our hands, using hand sanitizer, and staying a safe distance from people, but as time goes on, we get a bit complacent, yet as we are relaxing the rules and people are returning to school and work, now is not the time for that so here’s a few reminders:
• Make sure you wear a mask, with your nose and mouth fully covered where possible.
• Ensure that your classroom is sanitized and cleaned regularly.
• Ensure that hand sanitizer is available for students upon entering and leaving class.
• Remind yourself of the COVID symptoms and be vigilant.
Additionally, your school will have its own strict protocols and guidelines that are in place regarding desk layout, group work, social distancing, so make sure you understand what is needed from this…. keeping the social distancing during group work is not going to be easy, particularly with younger students who don’t fully understand, but we are all just required to do our best in this area.
Next up, you need to then be sure that you recap all these details to the students. Think of each day as a new opportunity to remind students of how to wear a mask, to wash their hands, to keep social distanced… and be sure to give them an opportunity to ask any questions they may have about COVID-19. You are not expected to be the guru on this topic, but you can certainly signpost them for information if they need it.
Mental Health and Well-being
Firstly, you, the teacher. It is crucial that you prepare yourself mentally and look after yourself. If you have any concerns about anything then you need to find an outlet, perhaps speaking to a head, a friend, chatting on a forum. You also need to look after yourself by ensuring that you find a space and opportunity for relaxing, whether you take a walk in a park, enjoy a film with your family, or get fit with yoga and downward dog. Either way, you must be able to look after yourself, because a teacher who looks after their own health and well-being is much better placed to support their students.
And then to the students, it is no secret that young people have been suffering from extreme mental health issues throughout this pandemic. The return to school for many will be met with very mixed emotions. It is going to fall to the teacher to concentrate on this almost as much as the academics, building up confidence in social engagement, offering a space for students to share thoughts and feelings, fears and concerns, and a lot of listening and signposting to address areas of safeguarding and concern.
There may be a need to speak with specialists and management within your schools to ensure that you are offering students the support they need, but this site here, the Child Mind Institute, also offers a lot of guidance, support, and strategies to help you as teacher help students who are suffering from anxiety and mental health issues.
The Curriculum and Its Delivery
This is going to be a tough and rocky year with lots of stopping, starting, chopping, and changing – so accepting that straight away, is probably going to be helpful.
Students will have learned and developed academically over the last year to extremely varying degrees, so following a standard curriculum for all is going to prove very tricky. Think of this year as a year of mastering differentiation and ensuring that everyone learns and develops, without worrying too much about to what extent, just that they are moving in the right direction.
Many students will have lost their confidence both academically and socially. So praise, reward, and recognition are going to play a key role in getting students back on track. Give them the belief that they will overcome this last horrific year and achieve great things.
It’s also time to give yourself a break from the strict rules of the curriculum. For example, if your class is going off track. Are the students engaging, socializing, having fun? Well, you know what, they probably need and deserve it. So let it run. And you know what, go one step further and just join in. You probably need it too!
Relationship building, communication, smiling, laughing. This year, these need to perhaps be retaught, in the same way, that math, geography, and science do. Leave space in the room for all these hidden skills we need in life that some may have lost along the way over the last year.
