Back to school? 6 tips to help teachers and their students

• Tip #1…Be Flexible– What works for one school or one city may not work for you. You may still teach online for the first part of the school year, or in-person or a hybrid. If you are teaching in a small town or in an area where there are few cases of the coronavirus, then in-person teaching may be the norm.

• Tip #2…Maintain Boundaries – It’s more than wearing a mask and maintaining a distance of six feet apart during “COVID-19 times. Teachers, you can set healthy boundaries around your time, whether you are teaching remotely or in-person. Clock-out at 5 pm and give yourself some downtime and family time. This will help you avoid burnout, and you will become less susceptible to getting sick.

• Tip #3 Communicate Clear Expectations for teachers, parents, and students to all stay on the same page. Students can list information about their assignments on this Google doc Assignment Sheet. Learning pledges are another way to help students excel and for parents, teachers, and students to maintain clear objectives and expectations for elementary and secondary students. These expectations include ways students can be safe online by not sharing sensitive information. Other tips implied include anti-bullying and avoiding inappropriate websites. In-person learning expectations forms are essential too.

• Tip #4 Focus on More Than Academics for yourself, your students, and their parents. A resource for parents to help support their child’s social, emotional, and mental health amid COVID-19. Spend quality time with your children daily. Accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. Limit the amount of news that is focused on the negative aspect of this pandemic. Maintain a positive attitude. Stay physically active. Exercise boosts endorphins in the brain and alleviates stress. Find more tips for supporting children. 

• Tip #5 Teachers and Students Develop an Attitude of Humility. Learn from failure about what is working or not working in your teaching and learning. Learning from failure is a stepping-stone for success. 

• Tip #6 Create Students who are Lifelong Learners. Help develop students to be proactive and independent learners and thinkers. Ask open-ended questions and lead them to ask questions and find answers. 

Call to Action

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