This is My 19th Year of Teaching - What my first year of COVID school was like

https://www.scarymommy.com/teaching-pandemic-everything-unfamiliar/

When I respond to the calls, texts, and inquiries about my first week back to work in the classroom, I find myself repeating the word “daunting.”

Back to school is typically an overwhelming time for parents, students, and educators, but this year in a global pandemic, I struggle to find the adjectives to properly convey the magnitude of the situation. In my best efforts to describe what it is like to be back in the classroom, I came up with the following analogy: Teaching in a hybrid classroom (with virtual and real-live students) during a world pandemic is like sending an astronaut to the moon for the first time without ever simulating zero gravity.

The difference between an astronaut and a teacher in 2020 is the fact that the astronaut is provided the PPE and technology to journey safely into space. I had to research and purchase all of my own gear. In fact, when we first learned that teachers would return to the building with live students a few weeks ago, I took matters into my own hands and ordered my own PPE based on guidance from some friends in the medical field.

I ordered sneeze guards to completely shield my desk space, floor to ceiling moveable shields so that I can stand up if needed, and a medical grade air purifier to turn over the air in the classroom. My back to school clothes and accessory purchases this year included scrubs, KN95 masks, face shields and safety goggles. I am not considering any new lipstick shades or makeup for this fall; instead, I am sporting a ponytail and the mask chain that my eight-year-old made for me. He picked purple pony beads because he knows that purple is my favorite color, and I wear the chain like a talisman, hoping that it wards off germs and keeps me safe this season!

All of the gear helps keep me safe, but the presentation of my plexiglass fortress has elicited both awe and pity from passersby. Some of the students laughed when they saw the fortress from which I’m teaching. Others felt sorry that I am taking this pandemic so seriously. Nevertheless, the feeling of safety will allow me to focus on my daily lessons and connect with my students, and that is essential.

This is my 19th year teaching in the classroom, but I feel like an astronaut in space who has never experienced zero gravity. Everything and everyone is new and unfamiliar. I am teaching from my plexiglass fortress in front of live students while simultaneously looking at virtual students on my computer. We are on a hybrid schedule, which means that there is a rotating number of students in my classroom and on a virtual platform. Each day a different hybrid group comes to school, so the number of live students in the class consistently changes each period and each day. Also, students may opt to stay home one day instead of attending in person. I have to be flexible about those last minute schedule changes and be ready to teach to the live students and virtual students simultaneously, or synchronously as our educational leaders like to define it.

Whatever you call it, teaching in a hybrid model is a completely new feat that I am learning while enacting. The mundane procedures for taking attendance have become overwhelming. I have to account for those students physically present and the virtual students that I see on my laptop. My virtual students do not appear in alphabetical order, so I call their names alphabetically from my school roster. This activity takes at least 10 minutes as each student attempts to quickly and successfully switch on and off their microphones. There are always a few stragglers who join late and miss their turn, and we end up calling roll 2-3 times before the process is complete. I need to do this activity for each class I teach, a total of 5-6 times per day. After we take attendance, I have about 20 minutes to complete a lesson before we have to start the desk sanitizing process.

This week has been one of the most challenging ones of my life. I am exhausted and I feel anxious about how I can uphold my stamina through the coming weeks, but I am also grateful that my students have the opportunity to be in school again. I see that my own three kids (who are in my same district) are so happy to return to school. Despite the face shields and masks and having to stay six feet away from any other human being in the building, they want to go to school in the morning on their hybrid days.

My first grader drew a picture of his teacher last night and wrote a note saying “I love school.” I didn’t want to tell my six-year-old that his teacher might be afraid to touch the paper, so I put it in a plastic baggie. I emailed her this morning and assured her that we disinfected the markers and paper before we packed it up for her.

While my desk and my back to school outfits may look completely different this fall, I am trying my best to deliver thoughtful instruction to my students and stay healthy for my family. Sometimes I feel like I’m floating on the moon in zero gravity, but the virtual and masked smiles that I see in my classroom help keep me sane.

Teachers have been called a lot of names over the past few months, from public servant to essential worker. This fall I am embracing the title “superhero.”

Why We Talk Openly About Death In Our Family

https://www.scarymommy.com/death-not-taboo-topic/

Death is not a taboo subject in our home, and I do not pretend to shield my children from the truth about mortality. I was forced to accept the bitter reality when my father passed away shortly after my 22nd birthday. He was just 49 years old and still years away from ever walking me down the aisle or holding his future grandkids; however, my sons and I talk about him frequently, and they recognize that he is their biological grandfather.

Sometimes my boys will ask questions about my dad’s favorite foods or what sports he liked to play, and I am always quick to point out one of his favorite songs when it pops up on the radio or tell them a funny story about my childhood that highlights his fun-loving character. I have shown them pictures and even played some old 8mm tapes so they could see him in action. I long for them to recognize him, to feel like they “know” him, because that helps keep him alive in our conversations and especially in my heart. We lovingly refer to him as “Grandpop Stu,” although I will never really know what nickname my dad would have chosen to refer to himself as their grandfather.

My grandparents had longevity and were alive to meet my children, but they lived states away for the latter part of their lives and my grandfather died while my boys were still too young to remember him. We talk about him and recount the memories that he made together with the boys, but only my oldest son maintains a faint recollection of him. However, once my grandmother moved back to our area after the passing of her husband, my three sons had the opportunity to know and love her as their great grandmother “Nanny.”

She lived in a retirement community for the four years she was on her own and back in the neighborhood. The boys loved going to her house, running through the hallways, eating her snacks, and just being in her company. I loved watching them interact with her and I would reminisce about my own childhood as I watched her teach them how to play pick-up-sticks or War with her favorite deck of cards.

My boys recognized how old she was, and when we celebrated her 90th birthday, I knew better than to take her presence for granted. We were lucky to have her with us, and I continued to teach my boys to call her often, visit frequently, and appreciate the time with her because she, too, would eventually join the others in heaven.

My boys never flinched at those comments about death. They never cried, and they never doubted me.  They did ask a million existential questions about heaven, God, and the afterlife. I fielded each one with care and reassured them that nobody is alone in death. Unfortunately, this past summer when Nanny fell ill at 92 years old, we had to revisit those questions multiple times. When we learned that she only had a few days left to live, I wanted my children to understand what was happening without the experience seeming too morbid to them.

My husband and I decided to allow the boys (9, 6, and 4 at the time) to see Nanny, who was still coherent at the time. While she did not look like the woman they had grown to love, she still recognized their faces and offered them some candy like always. My boys were not scared. They held her hand, drew pictures for her, hugged her goodbye, and they were fully aware that her end was near. Nevertheless, they asked to return with me each day to visit until her final time eventually arrived.

In that instance, I allowed my kids to see me at my most vulnerable. They saw me cry and mourn, and I did not shield them from the cold reality that had taken place. I do not regret my decision to include them in this life cycle event. We all found comfort in each other, and we continue to find solace while talking about Nanny and reliving the fun memories we made together.

Just the other week my middle son was in a store and pointed out a magnet that he thought Nanny would have loved. “I wish we could have bought it for her magnet collection,” he said. “Me too,” I answered with a full heart and a knot in my throat.

While I strive to shelter my kids from negativity and evil in the world, I cannot say the same for the experience of death. By accepting it and openly discussing it, my kids are recognizing their emotions and learning to handle them. They are building resiliency and coping skills, and together we are creating a memory book of our passed loved ones that will endure eternally in our minds and in our hearts. My hope is that they, too, will pass along these memories to their children and to our family’s future generations.

Why Middle Child Syndrome is Actually Middle Child Privilege

Jamie Agins Lincow

https://www.scarymommy.com/when-middle-child-syndrome-is-middle-child-privilege/?utm_source=CM

Any mom with 3 kids has certainly heard of “middle child syndrome.” If you Google it, you will see that the term describes the feelings of inadequacy or jealousy that come from those born in the middle. I have even heard parents say that their child “has middle child syndrome” as a rationale to excuse any misbehavior or negative outbursts. When I gave birth to my third boy, a few relatives even cautioned me to pay extra attention to my middle son so that he would not become a traditional middle child.

My own brother was born in the middle, but he was the only male in the family (cousins included) so he was garnished with quite a bit of attention and praise. Still, I can remember my mom throwing around the excuse that his grievances were a result of him being the middle child.

Now fast forward 20 years, and I am raising my own three boys (who are almost 4, 6, and 8). I once worried if my middle son could fall victim to middle child syndrome, especially because he is surrounded by brothers. However, I have quickly learned that gender does not eclipse individuality, and that my middle son is quite fortunate to be book-ended by his two brothers.

Each boy in our house has a nickname, and we call our middle son the “middle man.” He happens to be redheaded and blue-eyed, the rarest combination on the planet. His emergency birth was fiery, and he continues to be a spitfire with his actions and quick wit even at a young age. As the younger brother, he constantly rivals his older sibling with any physical feat, whether it be climbing monkey bars, tying shoelaces, or riding a bike without training wheels.

On the other hand, he has a softer side while caring for his little brother, who he lovingly still calls “baby.” Of course they all play in a rough and tumble way from time to time, but the middle man has a gift that the others lack: he is the younger brother AND the older brother, able to express himself and play different roles depending upon who is home.

The other day, my middle man was “playing up” with his big brother. They were outside riding bikes with the neighborhood kids, playing cops and robbers, and then having a football toss. When he got bored of the games and wanted a change, he came back to the driveway and “played down” with his little brother. The two of them chalked the entire driveway and then took turns drawing outlines of each other’s body on the cement. There is always someone for the middle child to play with — he can explore all different types of play depending upon his mood.

When it comes to school, organized sports and activities, or even developmental milestones, the middle child has the ability to know what lies ahead and prepare himself for that journey; yet, he also has the capacity to voice his opinions and share advice with the younger brother who will eventually follow in his footsteps. When our middle man lost his first tooth last month, he already knew that a tooth fairy would come and leave him money, and he took pride in showing his little brother how to wrap the tooth properly and stick it under his pillow.

The countless sociological studies conducted on the relationship between birth order and individual characteristics are often true and quite interesting, but middle child syndrome does not have to be a stereotypical issue for all children born in the middle. Rather than demarcating the middle born with a syndrome, can’t we value his place in the birth order as a privilege?