Forging new paths

I
 feel a little like Lewis and Clarke trying to map out a wild frontier. Granted I’m not facing life threatening situations ranging from the extreme environment of the plains and mountains, nor the threat of human and wildlife aggression, but I am battling the unknown of online learning. 
You may think these two scenarios are worlds apart, but I beg to differ. 
I think human instincts of survival would kick in if I were stranded somewhere — visualize the movie “Castaway” or “The Revenant.” I may not be resourceful enough to actually survive, but I know that my natural proclivity would be to do whatever was needed to make it through. 
This new frontier that I, and all my fellow educators, are facing — teaching students remotely without warning, with guidance that is coming in at the same time as we all explore how to make this happen — is nothing short of mapping out an unknown and dangerous landscape. 
We face obstacles such as whether all students have access to the internet. Obviously, kids can’t join a virtual class if they have no way to do so. 
Though we have tried to organize our class meetings, there are conflicting times when different teachers are holding classes.
After having been out of school for three weeks without a decided upon course of action, it’s a little challenging to get students back into the habit of staying in contact with their teachers. Many are working, and have placed their jobs as more of a priority. While there was no online learning during the “break,” it was understandable, but now we are struggling with reeling some back in to attend “classes.”
To add to these inherent challenges, the state is also expecting proof of contact with students so the importance of getting them back takes on a different priority.
Then there’s the question of, when will this situation end? Will we get back before the end of the year? South Dakota announced yesterday that schools would not reconvene conventionally prior to the end of the year. How long will it be before Wyoming decides to follow suit?
Will there be a spring sports season?
All of these issues are prone to induce anxiety in even the most serene of folks, but what is even more heart wrenching is knowing the loss the Class of 2020 must be feeling. Spring semester is already a stressful one for them as they contemplate leaving what they’ve known for 13 years and heading out into the world, but now they are facing no prom, no track or soccer, no AAU volleyball, and whether or not they’re going to get to walk across the stage at graduation.
The one thing that I do know is that we are living in unprecedented times and we are making history each and every day of this pandemic.