To round out the final week of the 100 Day Writing Challenge, I created a "Stay-at-Home Wellness Board" for my students with the directions to choose one of the activities each day and then write about it. The idea came to me as I considered all the kids whose profound boredom comes through in their writing, both explicitly and implicitly and examined my own coping strategies and those of the few kids who seemed to be fine despite everything. I noticed that there are things we do consistently, if not every day that help keep us regulated and well, and I wanted to challenge all of my students to try those practices.
So far, there have been mixed results. A few kids have done it, many more have opted out, and it's in situations like this, that I feel the shortcomings of distance learning. I learned long ago that I can't make students do anything; my job is to offer engaging educational opportunities and encourage kids to pursue them. It's the encouragement part that really suffers when we're so far apart.
Here is the board:
So far, there have been mixed results. A few kids have done it, many more have opted out, and it's in situations like this, that I feel the shortcomings of distance learning. I learned long ago that I can't make students do anything; my job is to offer engaging educational opportunities and encourage kids to pursue them. It's the encouragement part that really suffers when we're so far apart.
Here is the board:
You nailed it: the incredibly important encouragement part is suffering something fierce. I love the wellness board!
ReplyDeleteThis is still such a great offering! You have been as encouraging as possible from afar.
ReplyDelete