We did it! Melbourne teachers, we have spent so long in remote learning it feels like the normal way of teaching now. Do I feel the range of emotions? You bet! From excited to see my students and colleagues. Nerves about reports. Worried about getting into a new routine. Relief that the 2020 journey moves onto the next step. 

In this two-part series we would love to share some tips to return to full time learning onsite. These tips helped me to survive the last round and I hope that you have some of your own tips to share with us all.

1. Build-in treats for the week: this work for me as an incentive to return. I told myself that every day I survived, I would add five dollars to buying some books for the coming weekends. Each day I smiled that I survived a day and added five dollars to my book fund. Try to add something you would love to build to. Doesn’t have to be money. It could be time, outdoor activities or a call to a friend. Find something to look forward to.

​2. Sleep early and do not feel guilty about it. Honestly, by the end of the week, I didn’t have a choice. It is easy to get caught in playing catch up or getting ahead for the term. However, it is no use burning the candle at both ends. Make sure you build in as much time for rest as you can. Be kind to yourself for the first few weeks. 

3. Make sure you schedule something to look forward to. It may be a binge tv marathon, a walk near the beach, extra chocolate or time to read. Add in something fun for you to do. The more positives that I built in last time, the more seamless the transition was back to onsite. 

4. Essentials oils are my best friend at this time. Oils help me to find stress relief, clarity, calm and sleep. I had them running daily during remote offsite learning. That is one thing that I will miss most about working at home. The chance to design my space. Last time, I run the diffuser before the students returned onsite.

5. Celebrate the little wins. I strongly believe in looking for the little things that do right or go your way by chance. I don’t wait for the big wins that come by once a year or even in a lifetime. Set aside times to look for the little wins this week.​

These tips helped me greatly as I returned to full-time teaching. It was so exciting but daunting at the same time. These tips already have me ahead for the second time returning onsite. Good luck to all our returning teachers this week.
#twocreativeteachers 




.

Some countries like mine are lucky enough to look towards taking steps to ease restrictions. I have no crystal ball to tell you what will happen on return to classrooms. So I sat down with a coffee and reflected on what I hope happens as we move forward in education. Here are my top five:

1. A return push to life skills: one thing I have enjoyed seeing more than anything is the sheer amount of life skills students have had the chance to learn. I have truly loved seeing so many kids learn to cook, clean, budget, shop and plan their time. I have always believed education in general overlooks a focus on essential life skills. Not in a classroom but in an authentic context. Students are so time poor, life skills are often last. I would love to see more of a push for life skills moving forward.
2. Smaller classroom sizes: the reality is many people now understand how hard it is to manage large class sizes. Society is realising how hard it is to juggle a few different learners. With different needs, experiences, personalities and learning styles. Imagine that times 28. It is almost an impossible ask at times. Smaller class numbers means that things are not overlooked as much. Time is more of a luxury and students get quality time with educators. 
3. Appreciation for teachers: some of the comments, videos and memes circulating have truly given me a laugh. Some families have discovered that educators comments and concerns that they doubted may be valid after all. Society in general has realised that teaching is an art, holidays and breaks are needed and it is not as easy as just printing a worksheet. Truly knowing a student and how they learn best is harder than people think. Motivating students and helping them grow their confidence and mindset is also essential. Society seems to be finding a new found respect for teachers. People have realised just how hard they work, how trained they are and that their job isn’t just 9 to 3. 
4. Creativity to flourish: often without the constraints of time, creativity thrives. When you get lost in the moment and in flow creativity and imagination reign. You are so immersed in a project that you forget that you a learning. You innovate and create something new. You learn so many new skills that you surprise yourself. To me, this is one of the most important things I hope stays. I don’t know how but creativity is one of the things that I value the most. 
5. Less time constraints and pressure: this has forced so many people to stop. Slow down and pause. Good. Balance is vital for health and wellbeing. So many families have had more time together to reconnect. Or disconnect from unhealthy situations. Whatever it may be, pause gives time for reflection and our students work at such intense speeds. Being busy all the time is not life. It is certainly not a life I desire. Slowing down allows you to live with more intention. I truly hope that our student moving forward have more time for a break and can balance..

These are my hopes for education as we move forward. What are yours? What do you think will stay and why? When you find a moment, grab a coffee, sit back and imagine the possibilities for education as we move forward. #twocreativeteachers #teachers #educators

It is hard to believe how quickly the weeks fly by when working from home. Some days seems to drag on as you look at a screen all day. Others, you sit back and ponder where the hours went. As I travel into over a month of remote teaching from home, I can certainly say that I have learnt so many new skills rapidly. Setbacks also occur with any new learning. However, learning from setbacks is what we push with our students and we are no different. These  are a few new realisations that I have had recently:
 
Avoid expectations, labels and judgements: this one for me is a key. It is easy to label situations and move on or expect things to go a certain way. Never have adaptability and flexibility been more needed. It is so easy to judge the tone in an email, judge a set of circumstances or assume people’s feelings. However often what I assume or predict is simply not accurate. Trying to avoid making judgements or predictions means that you can go a little easier on yourself. 

​Avoid resource overload : best intentions are on display at the moment. Organisations, companies, other teachers and people in general are throwing a range of free trials to the public. There is SO much information and resource sharing. It is overwhelming. Everything is made to sound good and easy. Everyone has an opinion about what sounds great, what is a great resource and what would be best for kids. Stop. Breathe and go with what is the easiest and what the students know. All of these free resources are excellent but we have not had the time to teach students how to access and use all of these yet. Start small and familiar and slowly build from there. 

Stop comparing: this school is great as they do it this way their students. My favourite line so far of Covid19. Many opinions are being shared on social media of what other teachers are doing. Posts of how parents are adapting and making amazing Insta worthy learning spaces for their kids are popping up everywhere. What is really happening is that teachers and parents are designing what works best for their family, their situation and their kids. One size in this case does not fit all because I assure you that every situation is different. You simply can’t compare schools and teachers. Avoiding comparisons is the key to feeling more confident in what you are doing.  

Set a switch off point and automate an email: when working from home, it is easy to blur the lines between what is work and home life. You want to do as much as you can but you also need to look after yourself for the long haul. There is always the temptation to just check emails for five minutes and clear them. Families are also working at all hours to accommodate their situations. There does come a time when you need to switch off emails. Setting vacation mode for weekends also allows you to have uninterrupted breaks. Often over the two days, issues often resolve themselves anyway. Set clear boundaries to allow yourself a full mental break.  

Celebrate success: at first, there was no way I was going to get on video. No way was I going to open myself up for critique and judgement on my teaching style. Yet five weeks in and here I am doing videos and Zoom meetings confidently and easily. I am more confident using Goggle Classrooms. I have discovered new email features, new tricks and new strategies. Learning I would not have normally had the time to cultivate. Set aside time to record down your new skills. Stop. Take a moment and be proud of yourself.  
 
We often forget to celebrate the successes. I cannot believe how teachers have adapted quickly and have pushed their skillset so rapidly. We have become  learners during this process like our students. As we find our way through this path all I know is that our students are lucky to have so many worldwide educators going above and beyond to help them access some form of learning. Stay strong teachers.
#twocreativeteachers #teachers #educators

How do I shift my mindset and years of experience in the classroom to make remote learning work? This is a question I have spent weeks pondering on and will probably never answer. I don’t think anyone will find the best or perfect system. What I hope teachers and schools do, is try to find what works for their students, families and the community. In doing this, I asked myself what could I do to make working remotely successful for me in my situation. Here are some of the things that I find works for me at the moment:
 

1. Develop a routine: this works for me. It may not work for you. My first priority was to get a routine going. This helped me to separate work from home even when they were all in the one space. It put me on auto pilot mode and it was one less think that I had to think about
2. Make student connection a priority: our life and world has shifted and it is a challenge for everyone. No matter what you do or where you are, life is affected somehow. As adults, some of us process this and adapt quickly and some of us don’t. Some people have the skill set to shine, others are finding their lives horribly changed. Children will be in the same boat but with less life experience. Their world will have been turned upside down and they have to learn to adapt as well. For some of them, this may be a good transition. For others, this may cause extreme distress and confusion. The main goal that I set myself is to let my students know that I am here for them. I will be here when they need and I will do the best that I can to help them.
3. Document: this one will evolve over time I am sure. I make sure that I document according to the school guidelines and expectations. It shows what I do with my time and how I am contributing. I save my emails and make sure that I record who I check in with and when.
4. Follow the expectations set as a school: this one is tricky. You naturally want to go above and beyond for your students all the time. In the interests of consistency and fairness to all staff members, try to work as a team. Set guidelines that you all stick to so that there is no comparison between teachers. Strong school guidelines and clear communication expectations will help this transition run a little more smoothly. We were lucky enough in Victoria to have some time to establish these guidelines.
5. Boundaries and space: set a clear distance between home and work. At first I got caught up in work so badly I didn’t take breaks and would be answering emails at all hours. The lines between work and home blurred really quickly. I learnt pretty rapidly that if I was in this for the long haul I needed to create a barrier between the two. I pack up all of my school materials at the end of the day. They don’t come out until the next morning. 

Remember: Go slow and be strategic, do not rush into doing it all: things will develop as we move on this journey. We don’t start a new journey having achieved the end result. Things will change as no one knows how this will end or what normal will look like after this.
 
Things may be different for a long time. We just cannot predict what will happen. All I do know is that every teacher out there is enough. Whatever you are doing it is enough.
#twocreativeteachers #teachers #education

Who would have thought that we would have started our year this way? Moving into such new and unfamiliar territory. It is worrying times for teachers in Australia as we are still teaching in a dual role. That role is still ever changing. I am more than happy to help the community in times of need, but I would like to think that my safety is also of concern. Right now, it is hard to keep a classroom of students at a safe distance. It is also extremely challenging doing so without any protective gear. Another new challenge presenting is finding a balanced remote learning program. So many challenges in such a short time frame! However I have full faith that if any group will rise to the occasion and meet these challenges, it will be teachers.
 
Teachers certainly have a unique way of adapting to setbacks and problem solving on the go. We just need the community to be patient and work with us. So I am beginning to think of how I can address some of these issues and face what is coming. I started by looking at things that I can control and manage. This helped shift my mindset and I hope that you can make a coffee, sit back and do the same.
 

1. Be grateful that I have a job: it broke my heart driving to work some days watching hoards of people desperate for support. The lines at local support agencies were immense and it reminded me of how much worse my situation could be. Today, I am thankful that I have a job.
2. Remind yourself of what you have, not what you don’t: when this first happened, I must admit, I felt a little panic. The unknown, the uncertainty, the fear, my health and safety risk. I have a respiratory condition that makes me higher risk. Like so many others, my first thought was a little bit of fear. The what if’s certainly had a field day! But when things calmed, reason and logic kicked in again. I worked hard to remind myself every day what I do have. I do have a roof over my head, I do have access to help and medicine and I am not in this alone.
3. Give yourself time to adjust: it takes a while to adjust to any change. This is no different. It will take a little while to adjust but I feel like I can manage it if I just allow myself time to breathe and adjust to a new way of doing things.
4. Be kind to yourself: it is a stressful time for all. You will make mistakes and some of them may be bad mistakes. Keep asking what you would say to another person in your situation. You would reassure them and be kind to them. Treat yourself the same way.
5. Allow yourself time to switch off: I have put all devices away, turned the TV off and gone back to reading and writing to unwind. I have also been trying to walk outdoors as much as possible while I can. Try to find a time where you are just focussed on something else.
6. Don’t worry about what other people say: at first, some of the comments made on social media got under my skin. Teachers were made to seem ungrateful or complainers for wanting support with protecting themselves. It really annoyed me some of the ill informed comments made and I found myself dwelling on it. Eventually, I just become so tired of it, I stopped reading and it was the best thing that I did,
7. Stop comparing your role or school to others:  Every country, every situation and everyone’s circumstances are different. At first I fell into the trap of looking at what other countries do but as time went on, I realised that we are all unique. Before we judge, keep in mind that every school situation is unique and there is no one size fits all solution
8. You will not please everyone: I am sure that as remote learning continues there will be people screaming it’s too much, not enough, too hard or too easy. One thing I do know for certain is that no one has ever faced this situation before. Schools have not had a challenge like this. Children, like adults, need time to process, adjust and have a break. My personal belief is that connection will be the most important thing for our kids. All students are in the same boat where their schooling is effected. It may be a great time for some life skill development!

 
Every person has a story in this situation. What strikes me is the magnitude of people who lives have been changed because of this. Life as we know it, has shifted for a while and people have been impacted on so many levels. Some more than others. Teachers will have a vital role to play as this situation develops. Whoever you are and wherever you are, stay safe and I hope that you find some peace in your day. #education #teachers #twocreativeteachers