Back to Class

Tumisu via Pixabay

Today, I spent some time in the classroom. That doesn't sound like such a big deal for an educator but this particular educator has spent the past few Wednesdays on Zoom listening to student presentations. It was kind of nice to eliminate travel time and I was proud of the work my freshman presenters were doing.

 It wasn't until this past Monday that I felt weary of the online life as I headed for my computer at home for the usual Monday Zoom sessions. The timing was perfect; it was the last day of presentations.

I was back in the classroom yesterday, but today's classes were different. I'd been seeing my Tuesday/Thursday class in person, one half at a time, even during my recent Zoom run and it wasn't until today that I realized how much I missed having that opportunity lately with my MWF groups.

I'm sure this all sounds rather mundane but it's one of those little things that's worth appreciating in a semester that's been weird and, quite honestly, a bit scary. If you'd asked me in August I'd have told you that I preferred a fully online semester to one where desks are six feet apart, masks are required and hand sanitizer and cleaning products grace every classroom. But, that wasn't an option, so it was time to make the best of things.

Time in the classroom now in no way resembles anything I've ever known but, as it turns out, I'm still  glad to be there. One of my fears (on the low end of the spectrum) was that I wouldn't be able to learn the names of students I saw in person only in masks.

And today proved that I can, I did, and I have. Those unmasked Zoom sessions probably helped (even if it took me longer than usual). I'm grateful for every opportunity to socially distance and still teach, but there's still something special about being in a classroom, even now.