Well, the beginning of the second semester of the 2019-2020 school year definitely did NOT go as planned. From extreme excitement in a trip to Egypt over March Break, to heartbreak and disappointment at cancelling my trip so I could get back in time to isolate and go back to school in 3 weeks' time, to a complete disregard of any of those motions once the initial three week closures were over.... it was a wild ride. Amidst freezing cold strike days, a pandemic and a new semester beginning, I was certainly swimming in waters that were WAY over my head.
But I found a way to make it work. "How?", you ask? Let me tell you! There are the few tips and tricks I applied along the way and would highly recommend moving forward into a completely different school year and layout come September where stresses will be paramount in comparison to how we've experienced teaching stress before.
As educators, we very rarely look after our own health, both physically and mentally. Here are the ways in which I looked after myself and, in turn, my students as well:
Get Physical: I was missing lifting heavy things SO much in the beginning of quarantine. From training at the gym three times a week for a year to stopping cold turkey, I found it very difficult to keep adrenaline, motivation and serotonin levels high enough to not only function, but to enjoy functioning as well. So, I started running. I began to challenge and push myself in a way that I hadn't before, and also got to spent at least 30 minutes of quality time every other day with my favourite doggo gal. On days when I wasn't running, I spent time connecting with myself through more mindful physical activity, such as yoga and pilates. This was a great way to take breaks from agitation and relax. I also decided to move in this crazy time, so lifting all of my furniture up front basement stairs and into a new condo fulfilled all of my heavy-lifting cravings.
Eat Healthier: This is not to say that I've completely thrown my chocolate-y guilty pleasures to the side, but I have been more conscious of what I've been eating. Having not done so in the past, it has been easy to have sugar highs in the mornings and extreme sugar lows, complete with fatigue, in the early afternoons and school day endings. However, a school day's end is often the beginning of the more rigorous aspects of teaching, as a music teacher, as 3pm marks the beginnings of extra curriculum ensembles and teams. Having coached almost every evening after school, I needed to keep my energy up with a healthier balance in my body. I didn't want to destroy this routine whilst in quarantine, so I continued to adapt it and have enjoyed my energy levels so far!
Make Music: Music is, and has always been, my passion. It is my preferred method of self-expression, second to which is writing. Music has always been there for me through every life event. So, when I was feeling down about not being near my students physically and needing to remote teach, I started creating songs for them. Really, they were just covers of popular songs with changed lyrics to express my sentiments. They were a hit with my music and French students and were requested weekly. Therefore, their wishes were my commands! I began to create weekly QuaranTunes with Ms. V and my students (and colleagues) loved them! You can watch one of my favourites below.
Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously: As I say in the video below, "this is new for both teachers and you - creating this new learning plan". I took that to heart. I recognized that what I was a part of was an emergency situation and I was doing the absolute best I could with the resources I had available to me to be adapted from my usual classroom instruction into an online setting. I came to terms with making mistakes and allowing myself to know that was okay and showed my students that we are all human - teachers too. Although we are perceived to hold so much knowledge, our students teach us even more than we teach them, even if this is subconscious knowledge. I embraced this wholeheartedly in my online pedagogical practices and allowed my students to be the epicentres of knowledge, not me.
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