Going where (this) man has never gone before!

In the event that this is the first of my Blog posts you've read, I am a recently retired educator, and being retired, I had the choice to "throw my hat into the ring" and become a daily occasional educator ... more commonly referred to as a supply teacher. I made the choice to delay my initial return back into the classroom until I had a better understanding of how the school system would operate under pandemic conditions. Now that I have been back in the classroom, off and on, for 7 weeks, as regular readers can guess, I have formed some thoughts about my experiences.

Those who know me will already be aware that I spent most of my career in both Special Education and HPE (Phys Ed), with the last few years plying my skill set in the Arts with Comm Tech and Photography. Although I have a functioning knowledge ... just enough to be dangerous though ... of Art theory, I have never been blessed with the opportunity to discover the world of Visual Arts. 

That is, at least until now.

I recently spent 4 days subbing for a friend in a Gr10 Visual Art course. To make it even more intimidating, it was the first 4 days of a new "quad-mester" meaning that I had some organization items to take care of, not the least of which was enlightening the class about how the D2L ... the on-line component of the class ... was going to work for Visual Art. I will tell you right here and now that, despite my initial trepidation, the experience was most enjoyable, uplifting, and satisfying. The students were Uber talented, displaying incredible talent and vision for 15 and 16 year olds. I was blown out of the water by the pieces I witnessed being created. I think they may have even enjoyed the few days together ... wishful but hopeful thinking.

Supplying in these pandemic conditions is a darn sight stranger than I anticipated, mostly due to the protocols associated with the conditions surrounding masks, sanitizers, distancing, and interactions in class. Combined, they certainly change the day to day operations. However, when you stop to reflect on things, zoom out, and look and the "big picture", it really isn't as different as you first think. Kids are still kids and most are in school because they wish to continue to expand their minds, with all that entails. In the few supply days that I have done, I have found the students to be very aware and accommodating when it comes to the masking and sanitizing, plus they seem genuinely interested in being in school. I really can't comment on students outside of the class I'm supplying for, since the hallways are pretty vacant most of the time, but the few interactions that I've had were positive. I recognize that there are a significant number of North students who are opting for the "Learn at Home" model, making the total number of bodies in the school quite a bit lower, but the ones here are willing participants in keeping the virus at bay.

Being in my late 50's, I made a conscious decision to limit my supply offerings to a single school, to limit my exposure to the fewest number of people. It made perfect sense, at least to me, that I choose North as the only school I'd accept supply jobs for because I already knew the layout, I had friendships already established (both staff and students), and I was already familiar with the admin. I'm not really looking to return to full time work so I have mentally resigned myself to 3 days in a row, or 3 days a week, as the upper limit of assignments, but as friends situations change and they need assistance, I'll have to be flexible. 

One thing that supply teaching has shown me is that the conditions the government has asked everyone else to live by DEFINITELY are not possible in the classroom environment! The students are very aware and accommodating, but the physical set up is just not able to meet the general expectations. I would venture a guess that the increasing numbers of active cases in Ontario schools is not a coincidence. 

Thanks to the students of that Art class ... It was a good time!