Five Assumptions to Leave Behind as School Resumes

Reprinted with permission from Master Teacher, July 2020
The past several months have been filled with surprises, challenges, bewilderment, wonder and stress. Our regular routines were disrupted. We were asked to engage in teaching and learning in new ways that often have felt awkward and out-of-balance.

Now, as we approach the transition back to face-to-face teaching and learning, we are not the same, and our students are not the same. In fact, a lot will change from when we closed schools because of the virus. Many of our students have learned how to use new tools to support their learning. They have developed new skills and experienced greater learning independence. And, we too have gained important input and insights about our work and how to engage and mentor students. We have also learned much about ourselves when facing the unknown and needing to find ways to adjust and succeed.

There is much from this experience we will want to take with us when we return to our school. There are adjustments we will want to make in the ways we engage in face-to-face learning. However, there also are assumptions and practices we will need to leave behind.

Consider five assumptions for abandonment as students return.