We’ve all learned a little something…

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/07/2020 (1063 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ken Buck, a South Carolina school board trustee, wrote a Facebook post that summed up COVID-19 teaching nicely:

“We gave educators almost no notice. We asked them to completely redesign what school looks like, and in about 24 hours local administrators and teachers ‘Apollo 13’ed’ the problem and fixed it. Kids learning, being fed, needs being met in the midst of a global crisis. No state agency did this, no so-called national experts on curriculum. The local educators fixed it in hours. HOURS.”

There have been many examples of teachers, educational assistants and administrators who have gone that extra mile to stay connected with their students and families.

We enjoyed parades, yard signs, Zoom meetings, musical performances, storybook video reads, SeeSaw, and parking lot graduation ceremonies.

Brooklands School phys-ed teacher Dustin Vosper regularly encourages his students to push their boundaries — real and imagined.

When Dustin started to teach gym class remotely, he made exercise videos with special twists to keep kids excited and wanting to stay active.

Not to ignore his own neighbourhood, Dustin began writing daily messages on a large whiteboard on his front lawn. His words were calming, soothing and thoughtful.

Neighbours, friends and strangers took notice and returned daily to check out his latest work, many snapping photos to share with others. June 30 marked the last of 68 messages — the number of days since school life changed for Canadian families.

Wanda Prychitko is a community correspondent for St. James-Assiniboia. Contact wprychitko@yahoo.ca