Making Connections

It was not the best day in some ways…the weather was kind of lousy and spring break was over, meaning it was back to work. It definitely felt like a Monday.

even Ginny could tell it was Monday

With the theme of the day being Magical Monday, I was going to write about something Disney-related, but I just finished up with my office hours, which are 7-10 pm every Monday night, and I decided to focus on a different kind of magic.

I was busy throughout the day and to be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to sitting in a BlackBoard Collaborate session for three hours. I'd already been answering emails over the past several days regarding assignments and deadlines, and I didn't really expect anyone to join me on BlackBoard. I figured I would at least be able to use the time to get a bunch of grading done.

7:00 came and I opened the session, resigning myself to notion that it would be a quiet three hours.

I'm so happy to report that I was wrong! I had a bunch of students pop in and out of the session over the three hours, which was great – more than I've had during any of my other office hour sessions over the past several weeks!

Here's the magical part…they didn't want to talk about assignments. They didn't have a single question about deadlines. They just wanted to talk. They were feeling disconnected and just wanted to check in.

These are intelligent, passionate, creative people who are studying to become high school teachers. Their work throughout the semester has been outstanding, and the rich, meaningful discussions we had in class each week energized me and made me think deeply about so many issues.

But this whole online learning is a challenge even for them. They're doing the work, asking the questions, and completing the readings without issue.

What they are missing is the human interaction of a face-to-face class.

I'm also missing that human interaction. So are all of the teachers I know.

Teaching is about so much more than the content. It's about making connections with our students. It's about how we learn from them at the same time they are learning from us. It's about finding what works for each student, discovering what makes them tick, and identifying ways to relate to them. It's about helping them see in themselves all of the potential we see in them everyday and about believing in them. Cheering them on when we see not only their amazing successes, but also when they stumble and then get up and try again. It's about not giving up on our students, especially the ones who keep us up at night as we worry about the countless things we cannot control.

Teaching is about relationships.

So to me, today's magic was remembering that building relationships and connecting with my students is just as important for university classes as it was when I taught Kindergarten twenty years ago.

I love that they just wanted to say hi and talk "face to face" instead of via email. I hadn't realized that I was missing them, too, and I'm so grateful for those three hours I spent in front of my computer tonight.

I'm already looking forward to next week's office hours.

Happy Tails to you!