Teaching AND reaching our students from a distance

Abstract

Well, the new Fall 2020 semester is off and running, figuratively and literally speaking. I am involved in teaching three courses, all of which I am teaching online for the first time. I have never been so busy trying to get the next lecture ready, the next assignment posted, the next e-mail responded to, the next… you get my drift. Some of you may be feeling the same way as I am – too much to do and not enough time to do it. So, what I thought I would do is share some goals and ideas that are keeping me, and hopefully my students, grounded, growing, and going strong and some of my early online observations that are causing me to pause, ponder, and make adjustments.

How would you finish this sentence, “When life gets challenging, I…”? It is important to know what keeps you going when life gets difficult. Here are three goals and ideas that help me. Oh and I love a good positive quote, too – from the silly, like “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” (Dale Carnegie) to the funny, like “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on” (Franklin D. Roosevelt) to the more serious, like “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful” (Joshua J. Marine) and “We must meet the challenge rather than wish it were not before us” (William J. Brennan, Jr.).

There have already been a number of things that have given me pause this semester, and we are only a few weeks into the semester. Here are just of few of the highlights. I am sure there are many more to come!

One last thought, but certainly not the least – a key part of reaching our students is making sure our students know that we care about them, especially during this super stressful and uncertain time. I am blessed to have a superstar teaching assistant this semester, Erin Davis (soon to be Dr. Erin Davis), who is my right-hand person in this regard. She is always thinking about how to help the students succeed, even if it means more work and time and effort on her part. I am grateful for her and grateful for all the teachers out there who are working extra hard to teach and reach their students during such a time as this.