To say that this school year has been crazy does not do it justice. From teaching completely remotely, to teaching in a hybrid model, then back to teaching remotely, and for many of us finishing out the school year in a hybrid model was a whirlwind that no one was prepared for. And yet, educators across the world rose to the challenges and made it through the school year. You learned new skills and created relationships with your students even if most days it felt like you were talking to yourself .
[Why must everyone have a black screen? Did you ever think you would see so many ceiling fans??]
You have heard and used terms that you never thought you would ever use (or want to use again):
Asynchronous
Synchronous
Zoom
Nearpod
Desmos
Jamboard
Self Care
SEL
Social Distancing
Transparent
The “new normal”
“You are on mute”
“Pull up your mask”
And one that I will never use again…grace.
Yet despite this ever changing year, most of us are already thinking about how to help our students return to class in the fall. In my district that is only 8 weeks away! I’m embarking on a new adventure with the math teachers at my school to find ways that we can make this year the best it can be for our students. Whether you will refer to what we will encounter as “unfinished learning”, “learning loss” or “learning gaps”, it is weighing on our minds. We know that our students learned something over the past year, the question is “what”?
So here we go. My next adventure begins tomorrow and I am thrilled to share it with all of you.
I will continue to post resources on this page for Illustrative Mathematics but follow me on Twitter @KMcCormick_Math and #SkylineMathCrew to see what we are working on. If you want to know more, drop me a line.
Be the reason someone smiles today,
~Kelly
Math Actually 