The task of providing distance learning instruction in the beginning, as well providing whatever needed supports and services to students with disabilities to the very best of our abilities, pulling out every stop of creativity and effort within the confines of the situation, could not have been more daunting at first. How is this going to possibly work?
We have no choice but to make it work. We are going to make it work.
Whew… it didn’t feel that way at first.
Technology challenges.
Feeling completely overwhelmed and trying not to show it to our students or our families. Like the flight attendant analogy when hitting severe turbulence in the air.
My brother, a former flight attendant in his early 20’s used to share the analogy long before it was mainstream. When there is an in-flight situation, everyone looks to the flight attendants. They are trained and trained with some of the most intense training for a job on the planet, to remain calm. Show no fear. If you are calm, the passengers on the plane will be calm. Fear and panic can be worse than any external threat.
He once told the story of the most frightening training of all in order to teach and instill this concept. In a simulation, the flight attendant trainees were ordered to evacuate the plane which was rapidly filling with “smoke.” There was no opportunity to see anything except the exit door lights. As the trainees opened the emergency hatches for their “passengers” and evacuated the plane, they unexpectedly landed in a swimming pool at the bottom of the slide. I remember his story of feeling the shock of hitting the water; fully dressed in uniform. The mission: get everyone out of the cold, dark and deep pool, while also managing their own fears and calming the “passengers” around them.
I thought of that story more than once over the past few months. As teachers, especially working with some students prone to anxiety and other fears anyway; the air of calm was more important than anything else. If we are calm and behave as if this is all no big deal, our students will follow our lead. They will not be ready to learn until we accomplish this task.
And so we did.
And so they did.
As we come to the end of this unprecedented spring and stand on the eve of the last day of distance learning, I cannot help but feel a sense of victory and accomplishment. Was it perfect? No. But we truly did our best in a very difficult set of circumstances.
My dear students: I hope when you grow up, you look back at this time with some fond memories. A time of growth and resilience. Of proving to yourselves you can do hard things. YOU did it. We did it.
For me, at first, I felt knocked down to my knees with the task. Impossible.
No. We simply must get on our feet; figure this out; get out of the cold, dark and unexpected “pool”, remain calm and make it happen.
Tomorrow is our last day of distance learning. We will be climbing out of the “pool” and into the respite of summer, at least for a time.
If you follow my blog, you know I like to tie in analogies with favorite songs.
No one captures the sentiment better than Gloria.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPOSGVUYgVQ
Happy summer to all my teacher friends.