May Tired

The first month or so of school has historically been a period of adjustment for teachers and students. Ask any teacher, especially the ones who didn’t teach summer school, and they’ll tell you that the first few weeks usually leaves them longing for naps at the end of the day. Returning to the routines that govern school life take time.

But this year, of course, adds a whole new layer.

Pre-service, the week- to month-long (depending on your school district) period of classroom preparation and meetings, had a more somber tone this year. Yes, we’re thrilled to be back in the building, seeing our students face-to-face instead of hoping that they engage over zoom, creating hands-on activities without worrying if students have the materials that they need at home, and building relationships with our students and colleagues in a way that isn’t complicated by connectivity and environment issues. But there are several added wrinkles; most notably, the worry of keeping our students and ourselves safe from COVID-19.

The precautions vary from state to state and even district to district. At my school, we have PPE in every room; masks are mandated; lunch times have been staggered to allow fewer students in the cafeteria at once and allow for easier contact tracing; everyone has and uses hand sanitizer. We’ve limited the use of “community” materials in the classroom, such as crayons and pencils, instead making sure that students have their own materials at their desks.

But that isn’t even the whole of it.

Many of our students did not participate in hybrid school schedules this spring, which means that many students have not been in a school building since 2019. This two years has affected the students (and teachers) in a socio-emotional - and indeed, sometimes physical - way. Normal school procedures, such as raising a hand to be heard, staying in a seat, not talking while the teacher is talking, and even learning how to walk in the hallway without disturbing other classes, have become harder. Teachers have always had to remind students of these procedures when they return from the summer break, but the adjustment has been much harder this year.

I’ve seen so many teachers on my social media reaching out to ask if they are the only ones who are struggling more than usual with classroom management. Many states haven’t had full, in person school since the pandemic began. We all knew that this year would be difficult, but I don’t think that we fully realized just how difficult.

And of course, the issue that most people, even those without kids, have been discussing, is how much our students are struggling academically. Certainly there were those students who were dedicated to completing their work virtually, or had parents who were able to support their students’ learning and hold them to high standards. But a far larger majority either barely engaged or didn’t engage at all with learning last year, making the usual “summer slide” much worse.

We can’t always blame families for this; many parents wanted to support their students, but had to work, or had bad internet, or couldn’t check their students’ work because of language barriers. Though many teachers did their best to accommodate and keep in communication with parents, there was only so much that could be done to ensure that students were learning.

With known student deficiencies, many districts have mandated testing to gather where students were academically - never mind that most teachers knew where their students were at within the first few weeks of school, without any testing. So now, instead of being able to target student weaknesses (which, lets be clear, teachers have been doing for years), we have to take time out to give these assessments.

Oh, and some of our students still don’t have computers.

Teachers are being put through the ringer this year; with increased media coverage of student test scores and parents wanting to know what districts will do to support their students and keep them safe, there is added pressure. Teachers already make hundreds of decisions moment to moment during a regular year; now we have the added worry of COVID procedures, especially for those elementary-aged students who are not yet eligible for a vaccine.

Is it any wonder that the exhaustion that we feel is more akin to the end of the school year, when everyone is burnt out and ready for a break, rather than only being a month in?

So here I am, at the end of September, napping every chance that I get and using my Saturdays for rest instead of going out and exploring now that more of the world is opening back up. I’d love to visit museums that I haven’t seen or to get lunch to catch up with friends, but I’m just so tired. I’m May tired.