When the Sheltering In Place plan began, it started with schools closing initially for 2 weeks with the thought that the kids would be able to go back after spring break. Moms and dads, you were busy searching for the E-Learning packets your kids brought home at the start of the school year knowing that you were now going to have to make sure the kids got their work done. Some of us realized that even though we are awesome parents, teaching our kids the curriculum wasn’t our strong point. Giggles at times, frustrations at other times…but the kids continued to get the learning they needed. Then the unthinkable…more time being taken away from your kids and their teachers out of the school room, forcing them to a virtual classroom in Google Hangouts or Zoom or whichever the platform of choice is. Then…the announcement of closing the schools for the rest of the scheduled school year. Parents, students and teachers alike, let out groans and heavy sighs knowing that the end of the school year had come.
Here is what I learned over the weekend about teachers (Elementary teachers at least) as I helped clean out a classroom.
They really miss your kids. I’m not kidding. They miss seeing them everyday, teaching them, reading to them, hearing their stories, learning how different their personalities are, watching them grow, not just physically…but educationally and emotionally as well. They miss the smiles, the laughs, the quirks, the playground time and countless other “little” things about our kids.
I met a wonderful group of kids from a classroom in Washington, hearing from just about all of them about how tall I am and how do I know their teacher (these kids are quite protective of their teacher by the way). As I sat in a tiny little chair not designed for a 6’4″ man to sit in, one of the girls took no time in coming over to me and started asking questions. I kept waiting for her to pull out a notebook to take down her notes so she wouldn’t forget as she continued to grill me in regards of my intentions with her teacher. I watched them sing during a Christmas program and was met with cheers and screams as I walked into their classroom with cupcakes on another occasion. I became known as “Mr. Chris” to every single child in that classroom, and as they learned about me…I learned about them. My role in helping clean out the classroom was to take down some of their art work and writing assignments off the wall. I looked at their handwriting, the words they used, the colors they chose when drawing and coloring. I looked at how they wrote their names, and how some of the girls would put little hearts as the dots over the i. I’ve heard so much about these kids, that not only is their teacher going to miss them, but I am going to also.
So I say this moms and dads, you have great kids, and their teachers are going to miss and remember them all while wishing they had a little more time with them in their classroom.
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