Something that is not unprecedented in the education field is teaching lessons that can’t be found in our curriculum. Whether they are big, thoughtful life lessons or just tidbits of knowledge gained from life experience, teachers are always offering something to their students that isn’t found in their subject’s planning guide. But somehow this year even those lessons feel different.
In mindlessly scrolling through my social media, I found a post that resonated with me. It said something like,
We keep saying these students are falling so behind but instead look how far they have come. They are trouble shooting technology, learning to video conference with peers, sending emails, and figuring out time management.
We find ourselves teaching technology troubleshooting. “Can you hear me now? Good!” seems to have made a comeback with all of the virtual teaching and meetings. I hear teachers quite often reminding students of ways to troubleshoot and correct technology mishaps. Students are learning how to describe problems in detail, sometimes with screenshots, because it is difficult to understand the issue when the student is at home.
Email was something we took for granted and used little to communicate with students. We are now teaching students how to access school email, properly compose an email, and the etiquette necessary for electronic correspondence. What an important life skill!
All these skills are going to play a big role in the working world as we see that is changing as fast as education is. I feel more jobs are going to be remote due to this pandemic, so maybe we are preparing students for those jobs better than we “normally” would have.
Take a deep breath and know that through all you do daily, you are teaching students more than just your curriculum. You are giving them tools for this ever-changing, technology-driven world.
What do you find yourself teaching that is not in your curriculum?
Written by Kelsey Huffman. Kelsey has been an Instructional Technology Resource Teacher for Roanoke County Public Schools for four years. She enjoys helping teachers find new ways to teach and introduce technology in their classrooms.
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