Connectedness
4/24/2020
These past few weeks have been nothing short of interesting. There has been a lot of trial and error, a lot of laughs, frustration, questions, and a lot of screen time. However, I would take a lot of screen time over not being to connect to my students any day. Although learning has taken on a different appearance since we have jumped into distance education, I still feel lucky to be able to log into Zoom each morning and see the bright and wonderful faces of my students. I laugh out loud when I read or listen to their stories, I love to see the interesting responses in Seesaw, and I long for the small groups where I can work on specific skills and focus on each child. Even though we are not elbow deep in classroom projects, I feel that learning is still happening. Students proudly displayed their animal habitat dioramas, mastered their understanding of suffixes, created stories and pictures, practiced comprehension - all online. It's not ideal but it is working and I am so proud to see the resiliency that PNA's first graders are displaying throughout all of this. However, it is not only the first graders that are showing resiliency. Parents also deserve an applause as they have not only become co-teachers, but have also had to maintain all the other aspects of running a home and job from their house. We will all come out of this experience with a new set of skills that we might never have developed otherwise. I guess you call it the silver lining, or so to speak. I will say, I have absolutely loved having a smaller student-teacher ratio this year. It has allowed me to work with each child in ways not possible with a larger class size. A small class size is also proving to be invaluable during this time of distance learning. Some children need more academic work and to be challenged in certain areas, while others mainly need a friendly, familiar face to ask about their day and learn about their favorite toys. Some of my students thrive on a large workload yet some thrive on simple and comfortable connection. I know my students. I feel for them and love on them and I miss them. They have gone from these tiny kindergartners that arrived in my classroom last fall and have grown into these resilient, growth-minded, young scholars. PNA is not merely an academic institution for any of us. It is a refuge, especially during times such as these. And I cannot wait to give them in-person hugs and high fives in the fall!
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Hali TuomiMs. Tuomi has over five years experience in ASD, where she taught first and fifth grade classrooms. An avid skier, Ms. Tuomi is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Alaska Pacific University’s Bachelor of Arts in K-8 Education. Archives
April 2021
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