by Deborah J. Short

“School days, school days, Dear old golden rule days, Reading, and writing and ‘rithmetic…”

I’m not sure any of us had the idyllic primary school experience evoked in this traditional song, but at this moment, we might wish for a simple approach to education. Life has been complicated.

I won’t dwell on all the crises we have experienced since the start of this year—you know them well. But I do want to acknowledge that we are making progress. We are pulling together and supporting each other through

• the coronavirus pandemic and public health crisis;
• the economic downturn and ongoing budget concerns;
• the closing of schools, universities, and language programs and their uncertain reopening;
• the Black Lives Matter protests and the need to end systemic racism; and
• the isolation and the stress resulting from all of the above.

I would rather celebrate our successes. We have faced the difficult times with grace and perseverance. We have shown our grit and ingenuity. We have accomplished feats we never imagined 6 months ago.

Celebrate Success

Think about life in February and March. Were you ready for remote teaching and online meetings 100% of the time? I wasn’t, and I expect many of you weren’t, either. The pandemic closures gave new meaning to multitasking, didn’t it?

How did we react? After the initial shock, we stepped up. We kept calm and carried on. We, the educators, educated ourselves and took action.

• We pivoted to remote teaching, learning to teach with online platforms and tech apps.

• We advocated for our English learners, making sure they had devices, internet access, food, and instructional supports.

• We took precautions to keep healthy, physically and mentally.

• We targeted the socioemotional well-being of our learners, in addition to their academic needs.

• We explored professional learning options for ourselves.

• We collaborated with other English language teachers around the world.

In July, we held the first-ever TESOL Virtual Convention, and it was a hit! We had more than 3,900 registrants from 95 countries, four keynotes, close to 100 sessions, a virtual expo hall with more than 35 exhibitors, and many networking sessions. This event paves the way for more virtual conferences as well as a hybrid Convention with face-to-face and online sessions in Houston next March. For those who registered for the TESOL 2020 Virtual Convention, remember that all the sessions were recorded and you have access to them until mid-September. What a marvelous way to continue your own professional growth at your leisure.

The other collaborations and innovations that our members shared over the past 6 months have also been captured. As you prepare for the return to school, you can watch TESOL International Association webinars on topics such as tips for teaching online, using digital tools, working remotely with students who have disabilities, applying antiracist and translingual teaching practices in writing lessons, building affiliate leaders, and much, much more. Members of our interest sections, professional councils, and affiliates are among those who have contributed to these webinars. They are available on our TESOL International Association YouTube channel.

I know that we’ve mentioned the COVID-19 Resources before, but as you focus on planning instruction more deliberately, you may want to peruse these again. And do sign up for the myTESOL COVID-19 Community to share your ideas, get answers to your questions, and engage with others who are experiencing similar situations.

I hope you check out all these resources, including the excellent set of “back to school” articles in this edition of the newsletter, because they are the cumulation of our success in moving forward during these dire times.

Be Ready for the Near Future

As of this writing, among the ten largest school districts in the United States, four plan to begin the year with remote learning, one with a hybrid model combining some in-person and some remote, three are undecided, and two will have full in-person school available for all students (Education Week, 2020). Those two, however, are in Florida, where the teacher union is suing the state government to stop its mandate for in-person schooling unless class size is reduced and teachers have adequate protective supplies (Zapotosky, 2020). The data change weekly as virus outbreaks grow or recede. Stay tuned is the main message.

We don’t have a crystal ball and can’t predict the future. What we do know is that we have learned and collaborated and advocated in the past few months so that we can return to teaching and do it better. We are teachers because we love the profession, and whether we will be delivering instruction remotely or face-to-face, that love of teaching will prevail. Have confidence that we will keep language learning alive.

References

Education Week. (2020, July 15). School districts’ reopening plans: A snapshot. https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/school-districts-reopening-plans-a-snapshot.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-news2-rm&M=59623114&U=19397&UUID=30189420a6ce9a547726207c24f82d4e

Zapotosky, M. (2020, July 20). Florida teachers union sues over return to in-person classes, as debate over school during the pandemic intensifies. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/florida-teachers-union-sues-over-return-to-in-person-classes-as-debate-over-school-during-the-pandemic-intensifies/2020/07/20/e3376ba8-ca9c-11ea-b0e3-d55bda07d66a_story.html

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Deborah J. Short, PhD, is TESOL International Association president (2020–2021). She directs Academic Language Research & Training, LLC and provides professional development on academic literacy, content-based ESL, and sheltered instruction worldwide. She has led numerous research projects related to English learner education, codeveloped the SIOP Model, and served as series editor for several 6 Principles books.

 

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