The rain was coming down in sheets as students and staff scrambled into the building this morning. Even with the best gear, water dripped off backpacks, sending a decent spray across the linoleum tile. Kids wiped droplets off their temples as they took stock of the board; teachers stepped away from drenched coats stretched across their chairs to dry. On the screen, Teams displayed a few faces of the kids at home. They called out greetings--a daily check of the audio settings.
"Hi." Check.
"Testing." Check.
"Whoa, it is pouring out," one commented from the cyberverse. "Can you all hear that rain outside my window?"
In the classroom, they turned to see the gray sky turn grayer. The air from the vent sent a chill down their damp spines.
"Uh, yeah. It's raining here, too," was the school-side reply to those calling in from warm, dry homes. Thought bubbles appeared above heads with memories of pajama bottoms and socked feet, cereal bowls and bedhead concealed by neat Teams initials.
Concurrent learning. Students learning the same lessons at the same time from different places. Some things are the same. Others are very different.
I, too, often wonder if my hybrid students wish they could opt out of their desks and back into their familiar initial circles.
ReplyDeleteWe are just about to embark on this ourselves. We have been batting around terms to describe what you are doing, blended, hybrid, simultaneous. I like concurrent. Thanks for the snapshot of your morning.
ReplyDeleteReading this, I can so vividly picture those little thought bubbles popping up above their heads. It's sad, indeed, to have to pull ourselves together and ditch the pjs.
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