…..and it’s going pretty well, from my perspective. Our district’s overall handling of the reopening process has been yikes upon fuckup upon yikes again, but her teacher is trying just unbelievably hard and managing the class well and sending great activities. We have a workable schedule in place, the time commitments are entirely reasonable, and we are fortunate to have family support that makes the whole enterprise functional.
From Amelia’s perspective, virtual kindergarten has been glorious. Smashing, fantastic, the best thing to happen to her in months. At bedtime on the first day, she announced that she was so happy that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to fall asleep. We take turns sharing the best part of our day at the dinner table, and she consistently reports her 20-minute Google Meets as her highlight. She’s an eager and cooperative participant in every session, every task.
We are privileged to be able to make this work, and purely lucky that she enjoys it so much. But the fact that she enjoys it so much is a little bit devastating, too. Amelia is sunny and chatty and deeply friendly, an extrovert all the way through. She watched her classmates’ 30-second intro videos on Seesaw over and over, proudly announcing “these are my new friends!” She loves talking about her interactions with those new friends, repeating their comments and reporting on their personalities. I’m happy that she’s so happy, and sad that she can’t do any better than sitting alone in our playroom, trying to build relationships with other 5-year-olds through an iPad. I am sad to realize that, for however much we are able to provide for her needs, and however ‘normal’ we’ve tried to make her life feel, it is clear that she’s been quite lonely. I knew that, but I also didn’t know just how much.
She really is good at it, and I hope she gets to be one again soon.
If you like reading Extra Credit, would you consider sharing it somewhere, or with someone? Parenting can be hard and isolating even in non-pandemic times, and lately…..well, you know. It helps to connect!
Ask A Teacher
My husband has been a public school teacher for four years now. I understood that his first year of teaching would be hard on him. He would come home long after school let out, panicking about the day, and would be up prepping for the next day until after midnight. I understood that keeping 30 children engaged for hours without resources is an impossible task that would test anyone’s self-worth, but I assumed this pattern of long hours and emotional exhaustion would change as he established a school year routine.
Now, COVID has completely reset any comfort or confidence. This summer has not been a “break” for him because our state and county are constantly changing protocols. I would not be surprised if our friends have stopped talking to us (even with social distancing) because he can’t have a conversation anymore, it’s just one-sided rants. It feels like he is working way over 80 hours a week, but there is nothing to show for it. I don’t know if this lopsided work-life balance will ever end.
I want to be selfish and tell him teaching is not working for me. It’s pretty obvious to me, it’s not working for him, but teaching is part of his identity now. Any advice? I’m willing to consider that this will get better.
I did have some advice, but I’m actually not sure if it was too prickly! (Or was it not prickly enough?) I am still thinking about this one almost two weeks after I wrote it!
Recommendations
I have been trying to get the girls into K-Pop as a means of wrestling our Spotify recommendations away from every manner of Disney playlist, and BLACKPINK has been the biggest hit so far. Which is good, because I, too, love BLACKPINK! Get started with “Ice Cream,” and if you don’t like that, sorry about the ice water in your veins, I guess????
Plus an article in ELLE about their history!
PEN15 is back, and it remains pristine. Howlingly funny and also crushing. (In fact, I cried a little after the second episode, thinking about how adolescent boys discover that one of the most direct routes to impressing other boys is humiliating girls.)
I actually haven’t reached this plot point in the series yet, but I still loved this article: “PEN15 Has The Most Painfully Authentic Gay Teen Storyline I’ve Ever Seen On TV”
I have been studiously avoiding Twitter almost completely because 99.5% of the time it makes me feel very Bad, but I did take a glance and find these delights:
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