Last night, Isabelle and I reviewed the Tuesday – Friday schedule her new teacher sent. We were set…
Until this morning when I received a call from Isabelle’s principal who told me there was a change of plans. Instead of each fourth grade teacher having a few remote learners on their roster, there would be a dedicated class for all of the remote fourth graders at Isabelle’s school.
With less than 24 hours to go before the school year began, I remembered the phrase my father liked to repeat when circumstances changed throughout my life. It goes like this:
Everything is subject to change with no notice.
If ever there was a theme for the 2020-21 school year, I think this would be it!
About an hour later, I informed Isabelle of her new teacher and class placement. (Kudos to her for taking it well.) A few hours after that, I downloaded her new teacher’s schedule. After her evening shower, the two of us sat in her bedroom (aka: her classroom until there’s a vaccine) and reviewed the new Tuesday schedule.
A new adventure awaits tomorrow! Hopefully Zoom won’t have another Northeast USA outage. But if it does, we’ll just have to laugh and chalk it up to the 2020-21 school year theme.
Raising Literate Humans 
You have a very wise father and his mantra is definitely needed now. Favorite line: After her evening shower, the two of us sat in her bedroom (aka: her classroom until there’s a vaccine) That line, plus the image you added, shows SO much. I wish you the BEST Tuesday!! And no matter what, you will have a story to write!!
My father reads this blog so I’m sure he’ll appreciate you noticing his wisdom.
She just finished up and did so well. I’m proud of her for navigating the tech hiccups.
What I see here is a legacy of fortitude: Isabelle adapting to the late class change, your own willingness to laugh in the face of challenge, your father’s words of truth. One generation bolstering the next … and that theme of change at a moment’s notice is perfect for this unpredictable year. Isabelle’s workspace is so inviting! I am imagining all the great thinking that will transpire there… please thank her for her example of courage (so clearly inherited!).
She did so well today! (They just finished due to an early dismissal this week.) It was hectic with multiple Zoom logins, but we survived… and maybe even thrived.
I love this as a theme. Over the years, I’ve often found myself saying this to students in times of smaller adjustments (we arrive at the gym and find that the teacher is absent and there’s no substitute…and I have forgotten to check my email). I’d say, “We’re humans. We adapt.” And it’s true, we do. We don’t always enjoy it, but we adapt. Your daughter carries on your dad’s tradition.
Nope, we don’t always enjoy the adaptations, but we manage. That’s what all of us have to do these days if we want to maintain our sanity.
The lessons we are all learning this year. You’re learning to make sunshine… has Isabelle read that book? Ways to Make Sunshine? It fits with your theme…
No, we haven’t read it, but I’ll see if our library has it. Thanks!
It is surely a fitting theme for the year, for us all! I hope Isabelle’s strat was great!
She did well! Definitely a few tech bumps, but she survived.
Three generations of flexible thinkers! Thank you for the encouraging words and message.
I will be sure to write this year’s theme on a post-it and stick it in my teaching space! Thank you for sharing this wise mantra and story with us!
Sure thing! I think it’s better than any cutesy pandemic-related theme. (I’ve seen those and have felt horrified by them.)
I wish both you and Isabelle a great year! So much change and adapting, but it sounds like she is off to a good start. I can’t believe how grown up she is! (BTW, my daughter is leaving the district; will be working at the IU).
What a fantastic mantra, especially for this year! I think having a dedicated class for the remote learners will be a great experience, and I’m glad she adjusted well to the change! (If only they’d decided that BEFORE you went over the schedule!) And I love her workspace – especially the butterfly bookends!
This looks like a lovely work space! Keeping the home desk tidy has been more challenging for both of my children than keeping their school desk tidy.
We know that change is a constant in our lives and those best able to adapt will navigate that change more smoothly. Your considered approach to Isabelle’s on going welfare is most evident and the communication is respectful of her. In these times we demonstrate to our children and our own capacity to adapt and remain positive. More power to you Stacey.
What a delight to read your post and positivity in spite of last minute changes. Wishing Isabelle a lovely year, along with so many other learners in this new situation.
Remember when resilience was the buzzword in education/ child development, not too long ago? Maybe it was a prescient trend…I have to think that this generation of students will be very resilient and flexible, out of necessity. Your theme is similar to one a school counselor and I decided upon, for these times: “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” On a related note…does anyone really have a five-year plan, at this point?