I went back and forth on creating this remote learning document and sending it out to families. I feel that students deserve to have time off with their families, but I also knew that a month away during the school year was an extensive amount of time to miss. What a time we are living in right now. Coronavirus or COVID-19 has taken the country by storm and in attempts to “flatten the curve,” schools have shut down. My own district is out for a month, including one week of spring break. It seems like everywhere I look people are posting ideas for online learning and remote learning. While I know that many of my families struggle with access to technology, many of my families do have resources and materials available. Even if this is in the form of a mobile phone or device. I finally came to the decision that if even if some of my students find these resources useful, I would be glad I put the list together. I wanted to send out a hyperdoc with links to valuable resources that can help allow learning to happen (or at least attempt to) while we are away. This whole issue brings up so many reflections.

As educators, what are we supposed to be taking away from this moment?

What flaws in the system are now clear when our buildings shut down?

What limitations are not being addressed that allow our children to learn when our buildings are up and running?

I am proud that my district will offer food drops, but nothing can replace the routine, the classroom, the learning, the engagement, and the opportunities. The inspiration for this post came from Jennifer Gonzalez from the Cult of Pedagogy and her post titled “How HyperDocs Can Transform Your Teaching.” It made the most sense to offer a hyperdoc that linked to valuable resources. This post will outline my letter to families, a suggested schedule, and 20+ strategies to reach online learners through remote systems.

Imagine the plate spinner at a circus performance. So many intricacies of hand-eye coordination, focus, and practice have gone into making sure that the plates don't fall to their demise and break into thousands of pieces. Censorship in the classroom is best described as the plate spinner. There is an intricate balance that goes into contemporary content, current events and issues, parent and family input, school curriculum, administrative support, and more. Sometimes, you will find teachers not wanting to put themselves in that fight. All of these factors lend to the dizzying effect of plate spinning, but the question is what breaks when we don't present this content to students? Controversial content comes with major risks and rewards. The American Library Association has put together a pretty cohesive timeline of banning content in the past 30 years. Words like "censorship" and "banning" are used with intention in this purpose because often we are asked as educators to keep information from our students.