We all know that in March 2020 the teaching world as we knew it changed. We had two weeks’ notice to change everything we knew about education and forced into the world of online teaching. I have to be honest; I did not enjoy that experience – the 2 weeks’ notice to suddenly change everything I knew about teaching, scrambling for resources and learning a dozen new platforms, having guidelines that changed day by day for weeks before settling only to be thrown off again when the district changed policies and end the year with about a third of the students I started the semester with – whew, that was exhausting just writing that!
So why did I make the change? Why did I choose to pack up my classroom and accept a job at my districts new online only program? Because for years I’ve advocated for change in education and firmly believe this new online program, if done right, can be a part of the answer we’ve been talking about for years.
After a short discussion with the principal of the new online school and her vision to reimagine what school could look like, I was beyond excited to accept the position. Am I scared? Yes, but sometimes you have to stretch beyond your comfort zone to bring about real change. Is it going to be easy? Probably not, but I just could see walking away from an opportunity to make a change. Could it fail? Absolutely, but if I don’t give it a chance, I know I’d regret it.
As a way to document my new online journey, I will be writing a new post each month with updates. You are welcome to join me on the journey to reimagine school. Look for the First Friday Bonus post for a candid update on how the year’s going.
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