Who I am
My name is Layne.
I teach kids.
Today was our first day back after Spring Break. It was supposed to be our first day back with students, but a few days before break, it was adjusted to be a Teacher Inservice Day, with students to come back tomorrow.
Things have been changing constantly and as it turns out: today is now our last day. And who knows when students will come back.
The elephant in the room. When everyone knows it's there, but no one wants to acknowledge it. How does this help or hurt someone who has just experienced a loss? The loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, the loss of relationship.
With the way we were rostered students, I saw a particular student (6th, 7th or 8th grade - it didn't matter) once on Monday or Tuesday and then a second time that week on either Thursday or Friday. They weren't necessarily in the same group of students either.
One year ago, my school and I embarked on this adventure called PLUS. I don't know why we capitalize it when we write it out. It's not an acronym. It doesn't spell out anything. But it does represent the massive shift our entire building made in one year of a five-year ramp up.
My name is Layne.
I teach kids.
To save you some time, here are ten settings that every teacher should review before their first Zoom with students.