Staying Positive about the Promise and Peril of the New School Year

Remember lining up at the school door for the first day of school? Remember the thrill of finding out who was in your class and who would be your teacher? After the bell rang, remember running to find your new locker, unloading the boxes of crayons, smocks, sharpened pencils in spiffy cases, putting fresh binders into your desk, and presenting yourself to your new teacher with a big box of tissues. The room was bright, cheerful, and greeted you warmly. You worried about making a good impression on both your classmates and teachers. You wanted this year to be the best year ever! You had been perseverating about this first day for weeks, planning outfits, spreading rumors, peeking in windows, and pinning hopes on friendships and scholarship.

 

On the first day of classes as a teacher, I was beyond anxious. I wanted that first impression, that first class session to set the perfect tone and make every child feel welcome, excited, and joyful about our journey together. I wanted to learn everyone’s name and all about them! I want them to know that this would indeed be the best year ever!

 

How difficult it must be to muster up that kind of enthusiasm this year. How much work must it take for teachers to make a computer as welcoming and warm as a classroom? Turning on a computer cannot compare to the smell of freshly waxed floors and the din of kids in hallways. Six feet and social distance can create a chasm that will take labor to bridge.  How do we discover the real people behind the masks when we never get to see a smile in person?

 

We must! We can! Parents, teachers, administrators, counselors, social workers, and all the adults in children’s lives must join together to help students discover the deeply buried joy in learning this year. It is a mammoth undertaking fighting the fear and anger, the feelings of being abandoned and betrayed, and the overwhelming wish for our old normal routine.

 

I don’t know if that school is coming back, but it is not coming back soon. School staff and parents have been pushed to the frontlines of a battle that politicians have fought with only wishes and promises.

 

Yet, here we are – on our computers, trapped in our homes, alone in our classrooms and offices, in reconfigured spaces that feel alien and cold. We have been given a few weeks to prepare. We have been threatened and bullied. We have been asked to recreate symphonies with sticks.

 

We must trust our teachers and other school staff members to do right by kids. That is why they are there. They, too, must juggle their own family needs as we return to school.

 

We must help children rediscover the joy of learning. We must partner with their teachers and school staff and find creative ways to help them sustain engagement with school.

We must partner with parents and the community and try to find ways to balance the many pressing and important pieces of our lives beyond the schoolhouse. We must not sacrifice some for others.

 

To everyone who is going back to the classroom, campus, school, or center, may this school year bring you joy and connection. Despite the distance, may your students, teachers, colleagues, and friends help you learn, grow, and discover the best in yourself and the best in them. Despite the fear and anger, may your community wrap you in protection and health. Despite the challenges, may the new school year reaffirm your noblest goals and passions, and may it transform you and therefore transform the world.

Reading for Treasure: Racist!?

 Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

 

I don’t want our focus on racial justice to vanish as the protests leave the front pages and our television screens become filled with other topics. What makes something (or someone) racist? How should we have conversations regarding race and racism? Here are some articles that ask and answer some important questions about race.

 

“When Using Racist, Define Your Terms”: This article from The Atlantic explores the different definitions of racism and then argues that people, but especially journalists, must make it very clear what they mean by that term when they use it.

“When to Call Someone Out or Call Them In Over Racist Behavior”: This excerpt from a book by Tiffany Jewel starts by differentiating between calling someone in (addressing racist behavior privately) or calling someone out (addressing it in front of others). She then presents a series of questions about the nature of the behavior and situation that can guide your choice of whether to call someone in or out.

 

“The ‘I’m not a racist’ defense”: After you point out to someone that what they said or did was racist, almost always they turn that into an accusation that they are racist. In this opinion piece from CNN, Elliot Williams urges us to look beyond the label and see that it is not the intent of actions, but their impact that really makes something racist and that apologies and denials hide that sometimes White people do things that are racist and need to both acknowledge them and then do something about them.

 

“The Difference Between Being ‘Not Racist’ and ‘Anti-Racist’”: This article from Lifehacker clearly defines the terms “racist” and “anti-racist” and provides clear examples of behavior for each. It is a quick, easy, and important read.

 

 “What Drives Support for the Alt-Right”: This article from Psychology Today reports on a study that looked at the psychological profiles of people who identified with the Alt-right movement. It describes three clear takeaways from this report and looks at what is the motivation of Alt-right, their bias, and their comparison to supports of Antifa.

 

“What We Get Wrong About ‘People of Color’”: This article from Wired was written before people began using BIPOC or (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), but I wonder if the point would be the same. The author asks if we are using POC as a euphemism to avoid naming more specific groups.

 

“Open Letter to White People”: This piece suggests that the “what can I do” response to racist events is an empty question and White people become paralyzed by it. This article, written by a White person, works to get us past that paralysis by tapping into our empathy and taking action!

 

Seeing White Podcast: While many of us are considered White, our skin color is not really White. How did the idea of White (and Black) come about? Who were the people who made this distinction and why? I am willing to bet that many of the historical events this podcast describes will be new to you (especially if you are White).  It is outstanding and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Seeing White is part of a podcast called Scene on Radio.

 

“This Presidency Has Exposed My White Christian Friends”: The title makes the focus of this blog post very clear. Written by a pastor of a large church who is shocked by the beliefs of people he thought claimed to “love Jesus.” He says that the election of the current president has given people permission to stop pretending and take off their masks (metaphorically, of course – this article was written before the pandemic).  

 

 

I am currently reading Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

Order of Operations: The Virus First!

The question is: “what problem must be solved first?” This is not Jeopardy. This is not difficult to unravel. While multiple problems plague us, there is usually a key central issue. That is the case in the United States now. 

Before we can open the economy, we must bring down the number of cases of COVID-19.

 

Before we can open schools, we must be able to successfully treat and prevent COVID-19.

 

Before we can have sports, large group gatherings, or attend religious services, we must be free from the fear of spreading COVID-19.

 

To insist on reopening restaurants and bars, schools, or bring players back to the field is to put the proverbial horse before the cart. Nothing works unless we have the disease under control. Dealing with the disease comes before all other issues.

 

Of course, people need to work. There are businesses dying as well as people. Of course, children do better when they are in a school surrounded by their peers and adults who work with them in person. There should be no debate about these facts.

 

The debate is much more elemental: we argue about wearing masks, putting teachers and students back in classrooms, and how many deaths are acceptable if we are opening up.

 

The answer: none. No deaths are acceptable. No one should get this disease when we can prevent it. While there are significant and painful questions to be debated, they all sit behind the first and most important issue: our physical health!

 

And no, we cannot do them simultaneously. Once the disease is under control, then we can fight the war on multiple fronts. However, until the enemy is defeated or at least contained, no other battle can be won – and such divided efforts will hinder our ability to defeat the virus!

 

If we get kids back in school, then their parents can go back to work, then the economy can recover and then…millions more get the virus.  We can’t divide and conquer, we can only divide and die.

 

One step at a time. First things first.

 

It won’t be easy. There are terrible sacrifices being made and to be made and they aren’t being shared equally. As so many have pointed out, this crisis has highlighted the fatal inequities of our current system. Everyone must have healthcare. Everyone must be able to weather a financial storm. None of us are safe from this virus unless all of us are safe from this virus.

 

And let’s say what sits underneath all of this: we are going to do this again. This is not going to be the only time in our lifetimes that the world will shut down to get control of a deadly disease. The next one might be more infectious. The next one might have even more devastating effects. The next one might move far more quickly and be far more deadly.

 

Ready? Not even close.

 

We must be fed and sheltered, yes. We must have healthcare workers and those who create and move our essential products from producer to consumer. We must have basic government services.

 

The rest of our resources and resolve go into making us safe from the disease.

 

Then we can reopen everything – and plan to do it better next time.

The World Science Fiction Convention Online!

The coronavirus prevented people from traveling to Wellington, New Zealand for the 78^th annual World Science Fiction Convention. I was not planning on making the long trek down under. I was, of course, a supporting member, and planned on participated in voting for the Hugos and site selection from afar. When the convention went virtual, I signed up to attend – online. It was an opportunity to go to a Worldcon from my home in Illinois. What a great opportunity!  

For those readers who don’t know about Worldcons, science fiction conventions, or the wonderful world of fandom, take a look at this report from the Worldcon in London a few years back to get an idea of the scope, scale, and focus of these wonderful celebrations!

The virtual Worldcon a great experience. The organizers of CoNZealand did an outstanding job of creating both an analog experience and a new way to engage with fandom. I am so grateful to the many people who worked hours and hours to transform a traditional Worldcon into a meaningful online event.

 

I am a panel person. I enjoy many aspects of conventions, but the discussions at panels are my favorite part. The panel selection at CoNZealand was strong, but the online transformation of panels enhanced my experience significantly.

 

By any convention standards, the panels were great. The panelists were expert and articulate, the moderators did a great job of structuring the conversation. There was higher quality interaction between the audience and the panelists (and among the panelists) than at a typical live convention.

 

One of my biggest panel pet peeves is the people (often in the front row) who believe they are panelists and keep participating no matter what the moderator does. We had none of these! It wasn’t possible. There was strong information for moderators and a programming and/or tech person in the background helping structure the panel and making sure the technical details worked. It showed. Things ran beautifully!

 

The use of the Q&A and chat functions in Zoom also enhanced the panel significantly. Those who wanted to participate and provide a running commentary could use the chat feature. This felt both appropriate and a good way to channel (sorry) the need to provide a running commentary on the panel. Many times, panelists pulled ideas and comments from the chat into the panel! It was a multi-leveled conversation.

 

The Q&A function was a great replacement for hands up. Questions could be voted up or down and moderators could control how they asked them. The structure helped create panels that moved forward instead of the constant “back to what so-in-so said ten comments ago.”  

Continuing the panel discussion on Discord added yet another improvement to the convention panels. For me, the only way to continue the conversation started at a panel is to talk to my friends with whom I saw it. If I am lucky enough to spot a panelist, I might be able to bring up points from the panel (which has its own problems). CoNZealand created a dedicated avenue where panelists and audience members could continue their conversation on a Discord channel! This is a great way to deepen engagement and help foster stronger relationships between convention-goers.

 

Since the panels were on Zoom, they were recorded and these recordings were available shortly after the panel and for a week following the con. I attended many panels live but saw even more afterward. I got to see every panel I wanted to attend! I’m still watching them. Of course, I didn’t get the chat and the Discord follow up when I saw the recorded panel, but just being able to see multiple panels that were scheduled at the same time or at a time when I could not attend was a huge bonus! I felt like I got much more from this convention from the sheer number of panels I got to see!

 

I attended some of the parties on Zoom, sat at a fan table for a few hours, and toured the virtual exhibit hall, dealer’s room, and art show, too. While I would have preferred to interact with these in person, I liked being able to see the displays and take as much time as I wanted. I could linger at the art show and browse the dealers’ websites. I even appreciated the ambient sound of a busy convention hall that accompanied this area.

 

I am hoping to be in attendance in D.C. for the next WorldCon, and I do prefer being present in-person to a virtual experience. Yet, there are aspects of the online convention that could be integrated into a live one. Providing an online chat for panels, recording them, having an online discussion area would all be great enhancements. Are these worth the cost and people power to make them happen? I am not sure.

 

Having a virtual track on future conventions does make it more accessible and provides more value for all attendees. Yet, it would require much more work on the part of the organizers. As we envision a post-COVID world, we may need to both prepare for the possibility of an entirely online convention and provide ways for those who cannot travel to participate. CoNZealand did an outstanding job of exploring this brave new world of virtual conventions and I am very grateful! Bravo!

Letting Go of COVID Control

I have been struggling during this time. I love spending this time with my wife and kids, but I am concerned about people I care about who don’t live with me. While I am completely content to chip away at my list, clean the house, find interesting ways to connect, create, and be involved in my community, I am keenly aware that this is a time of great uncertainty and danger. And I have been living with that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach: fear.

So my goal continues to be to not lose this moment because I am afraid about what may or may not happen later. I am working to be present here and now. I want to be able to appreciate the moments I have with my family at home, on the phone, through video chats, texts, and emails instead of fretting about the dangers from which I cannot protect them.

 

I guess I need to let go of the protector father/husband concept, too.

 

It is easier written than done. I read an article talking about how one’s mindset affects one’s immune system, and anxiety hinders the immunity system. Did I really need to be told that fear is the mind-killer? Do I diminish my ability to stay well by making doomsday plans?

 

I am a planner. I like control. One doesn’t become a theatre director and English teacher unless one is constitutionally predisposed to being in charge. I am happier when things work according to my plans because I spend significant energy structuring all the pieces. I have checklists, to-do sheets, procedure documents, and contingency plans for my contingency plans. My father calls me a “belt and suspenders man.” It is an accurate description.

 

While there is nothing wrong with being thoughtful, prepared, and planned, it can be problematic when my need to direct the show is thwarted. I am in the wings for this crisis. My role is to stay out the way and do whatever I can to help those fighting this pandemic.

 

I am slowly learning how to do that. I am not a lead in this play. I am a bit player, an extra, and I must do my small part and let the show’s leads save me. That does not come easily to me, especially when some of those key actors don’t seem to know their lines or blocking and are terrible stage hogs.

 

I need to take my own grandmother’s advice and look at things positively. This does not mean ignoring, denying, or minimizing the things that make me anxious but putting them in their place. It does not mean throwing up my hands and saying I cannot participate in the struggle to improve our world, but finding healthy ways to contribute to the fight. And of course, letting go of my expectation of control.

 

A dear friend told me her version of the serenity prayer; she said the only good thing about hitting your head against the wall is that it feels really good when you stop. I must accept that much about this situation is out of my control. I cannot let that frustration destroy the good things that are right in front of me. I must not let my imagined horrors outshine my here and now blessings. There are things I can control. There are ways I can both help keep everyone safe and help make this a more just and peaceful world for everyone. I must understand the difference.

 

Writing this is one step. Doing it is another. I’ll get back to you.  

Reading For Treasure: COVID Trackers

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction! 

 

I have struggled with figuring out COVID statistics. I used to go to my state’s Department of Health page, but it was very difficult to understand. I couldn’t tell if things were getting better or worse and there was no way to put the statistics into context.

 

I have come to rely on two tracking websites that make both my state and other place’s information understandable and help me put compare my state to other places.

 

Here is an NPR article about the Harvard Global Health Institute’s map, which I find very easy to understand. Here is the actual website. 

 

The Atlantic has started the COVID-19 Tracking Project. They also include a tracker that focuses on race.

Using the Atlantic’s data, this website provides a very clear overall tracking of the outbreak by state. Each state is either in the red or in the green and then specific curves for each state are provided. This may be the clearest tracker I have found and it is the one I turn to most frequently.

 

Two other sources that are worth a look are NPR’s tracking page and a complex visualization at Domo.

 

Different trackers may work for different readers depending on what data makes sense to you and how you prefer to see the situation represented. I have found that all of the above sources agree on the overall trend. You will not be able to find better or worse news between them, just different ways of representing the data.

 

Currently, I am reading Dawn by Octavia Butler.

Physically Safe, Emotionally Supported, and Academically Engaged: Twelve Ideas for School in the Fall

In person or not in person, that is the dilemma. Schools are trying to figure out how they will engage with students in the fall. Some schools have already decided that they will continue teaching via computers distantly. The American Academy of Pediatricians has recommended that schools open in person and have provided guidance about how to do that.

 

It is a complex and dangerous problem. For the most part, schools like to play it safe. In this case, all the options are significantly problematic. Bringing students into the school building is fraught with medical risks, but teaching them at home has not been working well.

 

Some parents may choose to home school their students in the fall. Students and staff members may spend large chunks of time unable to attend or connect to school due to illness, family assistance, or other problems. The 2020-2021 school year will be the opposite of routine.

 

What should schools do?

 

Distance learning has not been successful. Returning students to their classrooms creates hygiene, space, attendance, and countless other challenges. While there appears to be evidence that children are less likely to get COVID-19 or infect others, we have already seen the problems that come of even small number of infected people in groups.

 

Recognizing that one solution will not work for every student, school, or family, here is my brainstorm list of school opening possibilities:

 

Build the Relationships First: Spend the first few weeks, regardless of whether they are in person, remote, or both, getting to know each other. Focus on building the student-teacher and classroom relationships: bonds first and give the creation of that bond significant time and priority.

 

One Student At A Time: Consider one-on-one options. Could teachers and other staff members check in with kids for brief periods a few times each week? Could teams of teachers collaborate such that they have a shared group of students with whom to connect? Fine tune curriculum for each individual student. With absences, illness, and the many challenges this time is bringing, it is likely that few students will be in the same curricular place and one size will fit no one. Focus on each student singularly. 

 

Teachers, Not Students, Change Rooms: Organize students so they are with kids who are taking the same classes and then move the teachers from room to room and leave the kids in the same place. If a group of eight to fifteen students stay in the same room and work with a team of teachers, we have limited the number of people with whom they are connecting, removed lots of hallway and lunchroom exposure, and given students a singular home that could be sanitized. In addition, we create a team of teachers working with the same students!

 

Classes In Person, Broadcast, and Recorded: Make sure that all in-person classes are simultaneously broadcast to the kids at home as well as recorded and posted. We must constantly plan for lots of short and long term absences of students and staff! This is another argument for teams of teachers working together.

 

Classes in the Community and Outside: Move classes out into the community and incorporate community service activities that connect to course concepts. Move classes outside to the greatest extent possible.

 

School Families: Create multi-age groupings of students and form families or Harry Potter style houses. Eating together helps bring people together. So does low-level self-disclosure. We all know that just because students were born in the same year does not mean they are developmentally in the same place or possess the same skills or knowledge.

 

A Huge Group Project: Make the first few weeks of school one big group project. The group might be the class or a larger team or the entire school. This could be a community service project, figuring out how school will work, career-focused, problem based, or some other highly engaging active work. What if school was transformed into a singular enterprise working together toward a shared goal?

 

Integrate the Arts and Student Support Services: Have every class have an art, music, theatre, and/or dance component – and teacher. Ask counselors, social workers, case managers, school psychologists and others to stop by classes on a regular basis. Make sure they become an integral part of the classroom community.

 

Slow Down and Focus on the People – not the Content: Slow down the curriculum and the content and focus on the people instead. Make sure that students and staff get to know each other really really really well. Rather than focusing on coverage and content, be sure that social-emotional needs are met and that students are psychologically and physically well. Treat every student as if they are suffering from trauma – because they are. 

 

Look at Grading Differently: Make evaluation far more in-depth than letter grades. Ask students to create criteria and then to self-evaluate. Make these evaluations meaningful and relevant to students. Ask kids to track their growth over time. Make sure that every child knows that the goal is for that they succeed and earn an A  - whatever A looks like.

 

Create a Department of Parent Connection: Support parents and families that are struggling with childcare, food, shelter, and other issues. Many universities now have offices of parent communications. Perhaps having some staff dedicated to coordinating assistance to and communication with parents would be a good way to open school’s door wider – and thus provide even more support for kids! 

 

Each Teacher and Class Must Partner With Parents: Include and partner with parents and families. This means reaching out to parents on a regularly. Elementary schools often have a home newsletter, why couldn’t middle and high school classes also reach out to home in both directions? Parent phone calls and emails will be critical, too!  Home and school must be even more closely connected than ever before.

 

I have not addressed nitty-gritty issues like busses, making hallways one way or having two-stage passing periods (even rooms, odd rooms). Such logistics must not be allowed to overshadow making sure that students are physically safe, emotionally supported, and academically engaged. Schools must focus on how to best support students and their families.

 

Some old structures will be useful, but many will be restrictive and problematic. Schools staffs must be willing to reinvent school, let go of rigid mindsets, and be highly creative. They should talk to each other and learn from each other – and from any source they can!

 

Here is an outstanding article that I saw after I finished this entry that goes into more depth into some of the same ideas and some even better ones!