Living the (Mega-Distanced) Dream

The reason that I got into teaching was because I wanted to positively affect the lives of the young people in our community so that they could go out and create a better world. About a year ago, I broadened the scope of that community to the global community, and could not have been more excited to make the decision to go to Myanmar with my beautiful partner and, for the first time as a paid professional, go out and accomplish my dream.

With the introduction of what I have begun calling “mega-distance learning,” my first thought was to wonder how I would be able to build relationships with my students and give them the meaningful education that I had spent so much time visualizing. I had always been interested in project based learning, which substitutes tests and textbooks with projects that allow students to practice valuable real world skills while learning about history. I knew that was something that I wanted to continue to do, and while it seemed daunting to implement a new type of schooling for these kids without the ability to walk them through it in person, I came to the decision that it would be even more important to provide that variety and inquiry-based learning in this format. They were going to get recorded videos, quizzes, and tests in all their other classes. I didn’t have to fall in that pattern as well. I was also going to make an intentional effort to do live teaching every opportunity I had, which means that I now teach 7:30pm-2am (!!!) three times a week.

Almost two months in, I could not be more stoked about the results coming out of my classroom. Building relationships with students has always been one of my highest priorities, and doing so is still possible over Zoom. Getting students into smaller rooms, playing music before class from a playlist they put together, and bringing a smile to class every day makes connecting with students possible, and even enjoyable. I even have a group of 5 or 6 sixth graders who hang out after my last period just to talk about what’s going on in school, in pop culture, and the world. Even though every second I spend with them is a second more after 2am, they are seconds I wouldn’t want to give up for anything.

At this point, making sure my students are staying emotionally and mentally healthy is my number 1 priority. Part of that is making sure they are learning, but also not overwhelming them with work and responsibility and causing stress. This balance is, as any teacher doing distance learning will tell you, the biggest thing on our minds right now. Even so- my 8th graders have given elevator pitches to a tribe of hunter-gatherers, my high schoolers have fully designed a website, and my sixth graders are currently creating their own picture books telling the story of a day in the life of a kid their age, somewhere else in the world. I am proud of the work they do every day.

I never expected to spend my first year as a teacher this way. But I’ve also never been someone who gives up when things get hard. Every day, I remind myself that I am doing my best, and then I go out there and do it. One day at a time.