During COVID, it's so different to be teaching in a classroom. The students are sitting at desks, socially distanced, wearing masks all day. In pre-COVID classrooms, students would be sitting at table groups where they can chat, share, and work together throughout the day. We now make sure kids are at least 3 feet apart, which goes against everything we usually do by grouping kids and helping them learn to work cooperatively. But - here we are. It's a new challenge for sure. My classroom consists of neat rows of desks and not much else. Hello 1950. We've only been back two weeks and it's becoming a little more natural to be sitting apart all day, wearing masks, washing hands and using hand sanitizer throughout the day. I'm even finding that I need to remind students less and less to "pull your mask up over your nose" or "wash your hands".
It can be a long day without the many social interactions we are used to having in daily learning. Partner work. Table/group work. Moving around the classroom freely. Yesterday seemed particularly long so I decided I'd spend some time reading from our current read aloud book and allow the students to just have time to relax, listen, draw and not have to "do anything".
As I read aloud from the book, using inflection and raising and lowering my voice to dramatically read, I also walked in between all the desks. Up and down the rows I walked. Reading. Walking. Reading. Walking. As I walked by one student I couldn't help but notice he had a huge paper airplane sitting on top of the desk. I paused, looking at his airplane. It was large, consisting of at least three pieces of paper folded expertly. He looked back at me, holding my gaze until I moved on. Reading. Walking. Reading Walking. Around the room I went.
As I circled back around again by aforementioned student's desk, I noticed now he had TWO large paper airplanes sitting on his desk. Now, I'll be honest. Students with paper airplanes on their desk is not something I usually allow, but I'll admit I was intrigued. It was bold. It was random. Where were they coming from I wondered? I made eye contact with the student who nodded towards the airplanes.
Another lap or two around the classroom and I was wondering what I would see next time I passed this student's desk. And there it was! A third, smaller airplane had appeared on his desk lined up with the other two much larger paper airplanes. What in the world? Was he making them as I walked around? Had he made them before? Once again, he looked at me when he noticed me looking towards his airplane desk runway. And this time he kind of raised his eyebrows and I could see his eyes sparkling from the huge smile hidden behind his mask. My eyes twinkled back at him from the huge smile hidden behind my mask.
After several more minutes of reading, I headed over for one final drive-by of the student's desk, curiosity getting the best of me and truly wanting to see what I would find next. As I closed the book and dramatically wrapped up the final sentence in the chapter, I looked down at his desk and the paper airplanes were gone! Nothing was on his desktop. They had disappeared as quickly and as mysteriously as they had appeared. It was like the "Bermuda Triangle Desk".
The student held my gaze as I squatted down by his desk to look inside where he had no doubt stashed the airplanes. Nothing! A neatly organized desk with no trace of an airplane.
Suddenly, the hectic last minutes of the day had arrived and students began gathering things, packing up, and cleaning up. The "game" was over and not one word had been exchanged. I never did ask the boy about the paper airplanes and I didn't see a trace of them again.
I think I'll just take this as a good sign that, as the title of this blog suggest, it soon will be time for me to say goodbye and 'fly'.
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