Re-Invigorated!

 This past week was the first time I was unmasked in school this year (ok- since August of last year, but who's counting?), and boy was it amazing. Well, to be honest, the freedom that came with unmasking was awesome...and frightening...with a hint of anxiety intermingled along the way. Despite anticipating this time for so long, when the time came, it was an absolute act of bravery for one and all. 

The first phase was a personal one. The decision to wear a mask in class or not. Whether to wear a mask when the whole school gathered or working with students in close quarters. Then there was the consideration of fellow teachers. Are they going to wear a mask or not? What message are we going to send to our students one way or the other? How can we make students feel good about the decisions that they make or that their parents make for them? How can we feel good about the decisions we make?

Well, I can only speak for myself, but I think things went as well as they possibly could have. At the beginning of the week though, it was very weird. Every time I left my classroom, I felt like I was breaking a rule. I also had to make a conscientious effort not to make any weird faces at the students, because I was now exposed! Some students and adults started off the week in masks, but shed them a few days in. And honestly, it didn't bother anyone one way or the other if individuals were wearing one in school. After all, masked faces are a regular sight these days.

Towards the end of the week, however, it was getting more natural.... but not exactly! Because when anyone came into the building without a mask, all of us prickled a little (not intentionally of course). Quickly we realized it was just because we haven't seen the kids' faces in our own school this year, let alone parents' or other adults' faces. The feelings of doing something wrong is diminishing slowly.

What wasn't exactly "normal for today," but used to be, was the energy I got from seeing and interacting with all of the kids in school. Of course, I still greeted kids as they entered school in the morning this year, but we didn't intermingle grades together very much. So, even though I work in a very small school, the separation of classrooms really dampened my life light. On some level I knew that my energy was lower and that I was more stressed, but what I didn't realize or recognize was that my energy at school is fed off the kids themselves. I had no idea how much I have missed getting to know all of the students in school from Pre-K to 4th. Not only that but interacting with the teachers on a more regular basis.

At the end of the day on Friday, the whole school was out on the playground, and it felt invigorating. Just watching the kids all playing together while talking with teachers and staff about them was just what we needed. Now, there are still a few lingering feelings of worry and waiting for a shoe to drop, but we can't think about that right now. All we can do is embrace the positive energy and continue to make healthy choices. I left school feeling like a huge weight has been lifted off of me.

Happy Spring! 

Please feel free to share your experience with the group. 

P.S. (Although I am not discarding my masks just yet and always have one handy, I am hoping to bury them in a time capsule.)