Real Talk: A School Year Like No Other

-

I want to use this platform as an opportunity to share inspiration, best practices in technology integration and library programming.  I have been wanting to add so many ideas here, but this has been a school year like no other.  Finding the time to blog has been a tremendous challenge for me.  I know from my own experiences this year and from what I hear from teachers at my campus, librarian friends and my social network that pretty much everyone is struggling.  

I wanted to be real here and share a little about my own journey this year.  There have been some extreme highs and definitely some lows and I am trying right now to keep my head above water.  

This has been the year that:

  • my child who is in kindergarten has had COVID twice- once in September and once in January
  • this same child has gotten Flu A and B and Strep in between having COVID
  • I am his care taker so that means I have been out to care for him for all of these occurrences 
  • I got the call that I was a finalist for TCEA Librarian Media Specialist of the Year
  • I had to have emergency surgery
  • complications with surgery caused a C-Diff infection (if you haven't heard of this Google it)
  • my campus honored me as Teacher of the Year
  • I got COVID with symptoms  
I know that God has a plan for good in my life.  He has showered me with so many blessings.  I just wanted to let my readers know that I am real too.  I struggle to do ALL the things too. No matter what you are going through this year, just no you are not alone.   Each day believe in the good.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Clarity and Engagement Key to Successful Communication

-
Image
This post is week 5 of 8 in the #8WeeksofSummer Blog Challenge for educators. This week's topic is all about the successes and challenges of communication during the pandemic.  It became crystal clear that during virtual learning the focus of communication needed to broaden to reach students multiple ways.  Without students coming to the virtual space of the library or classroom, I couldn't rely on signage on walls, tables and doors to spread the news of upcoming events and new resources.  Also I had to consider, how can I get my learners talking in a virtual environment? During this past year, communication had to get an over haul to meet the needs of the different learning styles of my learners and to ensure accessibility to make learning equitable for all.  When instruction was happening in person, many times I would give the directions and model how to do something.  I would include written directions for multi step assignments.  This strategy alone did...
Read more

Making Connections and Finding My Why

-
Image
This post is week 2 of 8 in the #8WeeksofSummer Blog Challenge for educators.  One thing that really changed in 2020-2021 for me, was making connections through collaboration with my peers.  Since I didn't have the constraint of needing to remain in the physical space of my library, I was able to collaborate and participate in my campus's daily activities.  It changed my whole outlook on how I could improve my role as librarian. I was able to reignite my passion for instructional technology and working directly with teachers on technology integration.  Finally, I felt that connection; I was a pivotal part of my campus.  As an ally and an asset to my team, I secured my role on campus.  I pushed myself to grow beyond the role of librarian that I had always known. Role Improvement #1: Attending Weekly Teacher Meetings During our time of virtual learning, I was able to attended our weekly Teacher CLCs (collaborative learning communities.)  These sessions w...
Read more

Building Engagement During the Pandemic

-
Image
This post is week 3 of 8 in the #8WeeksofSummer Blog Challenge for educators.     " We all needed to do different things to survive all the constantly changing demands of education."  I really connected with this statement on Hot Lunch Tray this week.  I think for all of us, we had to figure out how to keep our head above water and even thrive in the new normal we found ourselves in during the pandemic.  My learners this year became my focus.  Engagement was key.  I knew my students and my staff needed a totally different approach to ensure they were successful and supported this school year.  I had to think outside of the box (in this case the physical space of my library) to develop clear actionable goals for myself about how I could build engagement in my school community. Engaging Students During the Pandemic As a librarian, I had to figure out what my role looked like in a 100% virtual world.  It was a whole new experience trying to eng...
Read more