Chapter Fourteen: Bittersweet Reflections
Photo by Wilhelm Gunkel on Unsplash
June 17, 2020
Dear Diary,
I had a terrible nightmare last night. I dreamt I overslept and was ten minutes late logging Mistress Olivia into her first class of the day, but had misplaced all of her Zoom Meeting ID’s. Even worse, I wasn’t sure which class she needed to log into because I couldn’t access her Microsoft Teams account where her daily class schedule, along with several handouts to be printed, were normally posted.
My terror mounted as I was successively blocked by ParentSquare, Powerschool, Unified Classroom, Class Dojo and each of the other modes of communication intermittently utilized by the school throughout the year. As a last resort, I went to consult the class What’sApp group, but despite sending several messages, no one would respond to my desperate pleas for help.
I remember feeling panicked and unsure where to turn next, just as I awoke with a jolt. It was truly terrifying and my heart was still pounding, until I remembered that it is summer vacation and I no longer need to concern myself with such logistical matters umpteen times per day.
The blessed day finally arrived, Diary!!! Three months after the children’s school shut down, my governess duties concluded on Friday. However, now that we have gone a few days without observing our previous routine, I have to admit it feels rather bittersweet.
It turns out I will actually miss quite a few things about distance learning. I will most definitely miss the sweet sound that a chorus of second graders make when greeting their teacher, as well as the adorable, “thank you for the lesson, Mrs. Powell!” that they’d chant before signing off.
I will miss being a fly on the wall as they discussed their 7 and 8-year-old perspectives on life under quarantine and the recent protests. I will miss overhearing the enthusiastic discussions emanating from Tyler’s bedroom as well, along with how cheerfully Amy Beth would assist Tyler with his studies once she discovered his dashing French teacher.
I will most certainly miss the structure and stability provided by their daily schedule, regardless of how complicated it was to keep track of. Indeed, I am in awe of how their teachers overcame Herculean challenges to shift to online learning in a matter of days, while stoically managing their own fears and concerns over the virus. While I was holed up in bed, overwhelmed with grave fears about how the entire world could possibly stop for two months, teachers were learning new technologies and revamping their curricula on the fly. They opened up their homes and provided much needed continuity and strength. When I recall those days, and I think about all that teachers and school administrators had to do to continue to show up for our children, I get choked up with gratitude.
My never-ending gratitude aside, Diary, the thing I will probably miss most is being dragged into all of the art assignments, science experiments and dramatic recreations for which my two young charges needed my assistance. Again, their teachers utilized immense creativity to conceive of assignments which could be performed using common household items and provided so much collaborative fun. They reminded me of how fun school can be! (If only Olivia shared my enthusiasm…)
Very truly yours,
Maya
