Transcript

Welcome to BLaST the Airwaves with BLaST Intermediate Unit 17. Here at BLaST Intermediate Unit 17, we strive to transform lives and communities through educational services. On this podcast, we will provide you with educational solutions for all, no matter the learning environment. So teachers, administrators, caregivers, what are you waiting for?

What would happen if we started questioning, what if? What if we had a positive perspective on education? What if we flip the switch on education? What if we were the solution?

Hello listeners. We are excited to BLaST the Airwaves with you today and provide educational solutions for all. My name is Rebecca Gibboney and I am the Curriculum and Online Learning Specialist here at BLaST Intermediate Unit 17. I am thrilled to welcome you to this episode of BLaST the Airwaves. Today, during the episode, we will talk about immediacy with boundaries. We must continue to show up, relate, and be available for our students and families, but we need to keep it in perspective. Let’s blast the airwaves!

I don’t know about you, but in this virtual space, I feel like I am on call 24:7, every single day of every single week. Or, so…I feel like that is what most people think about educators during right now. Being on call 24:7. But, it’s not true. It can’t be.

Boundaries. They are just so hard as an educator. In an occupation that prides itself on helping others, it is hard to simply turn off because when we turn off, we feel helpless. A word we don’t like to use often. Helpless.

However, friends, we need to set boundaries. We need to keep it in perspective. We need to turn off. We need to remember to put ourselves first. We need to do all of these things so we can help those that are feeling a little helpless right now. We need to be accessible and relatable to our students. We need to provide the immediacy…just with boundaries.

Your immediacy, accessibility and relatability as perceived by students, build your teacher credibility. It’s one more of those aspects. How easily accessible are you for your students? I do not mean are you replying to every single email the split second it was sent. No. That’s unrealistic. But, do your students know you will respond within 24 hours? I mean, do they even know how to contact you? Is it through email or google voice or a phone call? How can they get in touch with you? Sure, it’s easy face to face. They can visit your classroom. They can come to your study hall. You can engage them with physical proximity. But, the tough part is when you are teaching from a distance. Visit their breakout rooms. Be relatable. Get to know them by first name and use their names so their peers learn their names. It goes back to building community. All of these simple things add up! They count.

Fisher, Frey and Hattie recommend three different ways in which you can be accessible for students and families but with boundaries.

Get to know your students on a personal level. You do not need to be best friends with them. In fact, you shouldn’t be best friends with them; but, invest in them. Show them you care about who they are outside of the classroom.
Teach with urgency. Clarification: urgency doesn’t mean you need to be speedy McSpeedster. No! It means quick enough but not too quick that you cause stress. A little stress okay. That is life, but not an absurd amount of stress. Students want you to get to the point so you are not wasting their time. Nor you won’t waste your time. They want to know that their learning means something. They want to know their why.
Start on time and use the time intentionally. Plain and simple. It’s just that – use time wisely.

Again, these things, these suggestions, they are nothing new. They are just reminders to raise the awareness that what you do, no matter the environment, makes a difference. You matter! What you do matters!

So, teach through the screen, teach face-to-face, teach wherever whenever. Do your thing. Teach! But teach with a smile. Bring the warmth and the security through your smile. Bring the community by using we and us, not you or me. Give your students voice, even the most timid of the bunch.

Because they all deserve a teacher like you. They all deserve trust. They all deserve competence. They all deserve to feel your dynamism. Your spark, you passion. They all deserve your immediacy and attention.

Just remember, how much they learn is determined by how much they feel they can learn from you–your teacher credibility.

I will wrap up this module with a quote from The Distance Learning Playbook:
“When a teacher is not perceived as credible, students tune out. They fail to log in, they fail to complete tasks, they fail to engage with peers; they fail.” They…fail.

You are right. You cannot save them all. I get it. I felt it too and it hurts. Sometimes, they have to also meet us halfway and save themselves. However, as an educator, I know that we do everything in our power to show up for students every single day. And I know, I want to be a reason a student shows up to a zoom every single day. I want to be a reason a student is a success or tastes or feels success. I want them to log in and not log out.

Be the helper you signed up to be. Be the amazing teacher you are. Keep showing up as that constant in each of your students’ lives. Remember, they notice and it matters.

We would like to thank you for blasting the airwaves with us today. If you like the show, please subscribe or leave a review. If you want to know more, check out www.iu17.org for further resources and show notes. As always, we want to thank you for what you do every single day. Remember, keep shining. We’ll be back next episode to provide you another educational solution for all, as we continue to transform lives and communities through educational services.

Additional/Suggested resources mentioned in the episode:

The Distance Learning Playbook by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Hattie

BLaST Intermediate Unit 17 – www.iu17.org 

Professional Learning Opportunities at BLaST IU 17 – https://www.iu17.org/professional-learning/ 

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