Day 52, May 7, 2020

Finals Week

For the past year I've taken part in a Zoom call once a month with administrators from across the country. Last June we all were part of the same cohort that attended a professional development workshop at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. For a period of almost two weeks, we all pretended to be Harvard students and trapsed through Harvard Square from our various hotels and airbnb rooms like the college students our parents always wished we were.

The salamanders are out!

I have to admit, I entered the endeavor with a little wariness and trepidation, in part, because so many professional development experiences are loaded with more chaff than wheat, and one must fortify one's self for the work needed to separate the two, and conversely, because as a long haired Asian guy from a small community college in rural Western Massachusetts, there is some of that imposter syndrome that seeps in when sitting in an Ivy League college classroom with colleagues from colleges and universities from all over the world. But, I am pretty good at hiding (most of the time) both of those concerns, and I found the program at HGSE to be really wonderful. We got to experience lectures by some truly phenomenal Harvard faculty, who even in a large lecture format, kept me in rapt attention. We got to hear from some of the preeminent college and university presidents in the country, and we were each assigned a subgroup where we discussed case studies in breakout rooms.

Our group had a wonderful chemistry that was held together with an underlying sense of kindness and compassion for the work each of us was engaged in. Our institutions varied tremendously in type and size. We came from all across the United States and Australia. Despite our differences, we all shared common experiences and challenges. In the months since our time in Cambridge, the group has served as a touch stone as each of us has taken turns having our own crises of faith, challenges at work, conflicts, and occasionally, successes to celebrate.

Tonight we shared how each of our institutions have addressed the pandemic, the impact it has had on our budgets, and ourselves. Interestingly, for many of us, dealing with COVID-19 and the impact it has had on our institutions has reawakened a sense of purpose, agency, and a sense that every thing we are doing on a day to day basis is having an impact and is important. It was interesting to hear that as I hadn't really turned the focus on myself much over the course of the last fifty two days.

Just the other day I had the final meeting with my faculty from the Humanities, Engineering, Math, and Science group and one of the things I tried to convey was my appreciation for their work as essential workers. That, in the midst of the traumatic experience of the pandemic, in the midst of personal loss, illness, and tremendous challenge, the faculty became beacons of hope and stability for our students. When our students lost their jobs, became untethered from their social safety nets, the community college faculty stepped forward and provided a semblance of normalcy, the simulacrum of community, and the stability of a schedule and routine. For many of our students, attending class and interacting with their professors and classmates were the lifeline that helped them through the moments of depression, doubt, and uncertainty.

It certainly has been hard for the faculty as well. Before the pandemic, only 20% of our classes were offered online. Over the course of two weeks, everyone shifted their courses online, no matter if they were technophobes, wary of online learning, teaching painting, chemistry, or calculus. They did that transition while also home schooling their own children, worrying about relatives, and encountering their own losses. It has been a hard semester.

But as my friends reminded me tonight, it has also been an incredibly rewarding semester. The work we are all engaged in at the college is more steeped in meaning than ever. It is more important than ever. By embracing both the scientific based reality of the situation, and holding true to our passion and vocation as educators, we are forging a path forward that is a beacon in all the chaos and confusion that seems to have overwhelmed much of the country and our personal lives.

So, as the semester comes to a close and students shift to finals and turning in their final papers, I am incredibly appreciative of my faculty. I am proud of the college I work for. I am incredibly proud of the students who have managed to endure and finish the semester. And, I worry about the students that we lost along the way, who were not able to overcome the absence of broadband, or appropriate technology, a loss of employment, illness, or loss. My heart goes out to all of them.

All across the country students are logging into their classes for the last time, faculty are grading papers, and administrators are trying to divine the future. I wish you all luck, health, and peace. And when it is all done, a well deserved rest.

Good night and sleep well,
Leo

The tenuous balance of nature on Mt. Toby

From Our Friends:

From NPR's Code Switch Newsletter:

Happy Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month! While you’re stuck at home, stream some of these PBS videos about the legendary Anna May Wong or the process of brewing saké.

And...Natalie Escobar, assistant editor: It feels like everyone around me—myself included—is struggling really hard right now. This past month, I’ve been fixating on my favorite Jenny Holzer truism: IN A DREAM YOU SAW A WAY TO SURVIVE AND YOU WERE FULL OF JOY. So in the spirit of survival, I’m revisiting a zine that has carried me through some of my toughest mental health times: Do What You Want. Curated by partners Ruby Tandoh and Leah Pritchard, it’s a one-off magazine about mental wellbeing, featuring stories, interviews, recipes and comics from people like Tejal Rao, Esmé Weijun Wang and Heather Havrilesky. It’s free on ISSUU right now, so take some time to flip through the pages and let your brain relax a bit.

From Diverse Issues in Higher Education:

The current moment gives us an opportunity to reflect on the role of art, more broadly, in these troubled times.

From the Korean Cultural Center NY:

Every Wednesday throughout May and June, the Korean Cultural Center New York presents an online Korean music concert series, <Gugak Wednesdays> in hopes to provide solace to tired people and to give comfort to all. It is our sincere hope that you can find joy and healing through beautiful music.

From the It Gets Better Project:

We've got some exciting new live events, including today's workout with Jake Dupree. Check out our schedule to see who's stopping by our Instagram and YouTube channels in the next few weeks. Plus, enjoy tons of uplifting and inspiring stories from around the world!

I had some fiddleheads with dinner tonight (not these).

Today's Online Teaching Tips:

From Jamf:

In our e-book, we identify five ways you can best serve students and teachers when you move learning online. We cover how to:

1. Set expectations for students and teachers
2. Facilitate engaging discussions daily
3. Promote peer-to-peer interaction
4. Offer active learning through projects and breakout groups
5. Leverage apps and games

From Harmonize:

We have created the Improving Student Engagement in Online Courses guide to help you solve these challenges. In this guide, you’ll find eight strategies to ensure online courses transcend the screen to become rich academic communities, including:

• Finding ways for every student to participate
• Options for personalizing learning
• Creating online communities
• Keeping everyone on track
• Setting achievable goals
• Analytics for the online experience
• Providing the means for student reflection