Things I Was Wrong About

Before I go confessing things that I have been wrong about, perhaps I should declare some things that I was totally RIGHT about: 

*Troy Burwell is indeed the Greatest. Husband. E-vah.  

*Teaching middle-schoolers is infinitely easier than parenting them. 

*My kindle reader is quite the wise investment. 

*Adoption is a good adventure to be on. 

*Jesus is the best, best, best!

 

But there are a few things in my life that I have been totally, completely, laughably wrong about.   

I will never forget the scene:  It is 1994 and I am sitting in my Rome, Georgia apartment with my BFF Kristi.  She tells me about a conversation she has recently had with her dad: 

Kristi: “You know how my dad knows a lot about computers?  He told me about the coolest thing that is coming soon!” 

Me: “Yeah?  What is it??” 

Kristi:  “They are calling it the ‘world wide web’.  It is a way to connect computers across the world, so that you could write a letter on a computer here in Georgia and the computer can send it to England, for example!” 

Me: “Really?  Hm.” 

Kristi:  “And you can put information about a store or product on this web and people could use their computers to get to it.” 

Me:  “Where is this ‘web’?” 

Kristi: “It’s like in the air.” 

Me: “Really??  Okay, I am just going to go ahead and say it:  Mark my words, that will NEVER work.  I’m sorry, but it just won’t.” 

 

Another scene that comes to mind happened not too long ago, early February 2020.  Troy-Babe and I are sitting in bed (like old people) reading, while the news drones in the background.  Suddenly Babe remembers a news story from earlier... 

Babe: “Oh my gosh, have you heard about this virus that has popped up in China?” 

Me: “Nope.  No idea what you are talking about.” 

Babe: “Well, they say it is really bad, and that it is coming to the US, and it could affect a lot of people.” 

Me: “They always say that stuff.” 

Babe: “But this one seems to be different.” 

Me: “Mark my words, that virus will be no big deal.” 

 

Fast forward to summer of 2021.  Without going into detail, I will just say that I have not seen my mom in twelve years.  Long ago, I thought to myself: “I am never going to have a relationship with my mom again.  Mark my words.  And that makes me very sad.”   

Suddenly in mid-June, she reaches out to me, as my stepdad Jim is dying of cancer.  She says that I and my family can come see them both.  She meets my crazy-but-beautiful children.  She takes me to the room where my stepdad lays dying, and I try to talk to him about being right with God before he dies.  (He is such a good man but has never really wanted a relationship with God.  Since he is soon leaving this earth for eternity, that is concerning to me.)  I find out that his close friend Mike has been talking God-talk with him and his perspective has changed, to say the least!   

Jim does indeed die within days of that conversation, but it is my belief that he is happily with God now.  (Don’t get all mad at me for being religious.  Aren’t we supposed to practice “tolerance”, people?!)   

And I am happily spending time with my mom again.  Plus she is getting to know my kids.  We have gotten to spend a lot of time reconnecting and I have really enjoyed it!  Mark my words, friends and family:  I am so glad that this is one more thing that I was very wrong about!

(The picture above is Cate and me with my Mom; we are at the Clanton, Alabama Airfield at my stepdad's memorial.)

 

30 Minutes in the Life of an Online School Teacher

  “Good morning, kiddos!  Today I want to do a mini-lesson with you on Longitude and Latitude, and then we will do some practice with it.”’

“Um, Mrs. Burwell, can you hear me?”

“I can hear you, Nora.”

“So you can hear me?”

“Yes, dear”

“Oh, okay...  (awkward pause)...  Well, I was just wondering what we would be doing today.”

“Hon, I just told y’all.”

“Oh, you did?  Sorry.”

“Alright, let’s get started.  Remember everyone should have your video cameras on.  Leah, please turn on your camera.  Leah?  Thanks, Leah.  (Leah turns her camera on, and then immediately back off.)  Leah, hon, you need to leave the camera on for the whole class.”  (No response. No camera.)

“Okay, well, let’s move on to our mini-lesson.”  “So, here is a globe…”

“Mrs. Burwell!  Hey I am sorry, this is Amy and I had computer issues and I am just now getting into the call.  So, did I miss anything?  I mean, like, have we done anything important yet?”

“Welcome to the call, Amy.  Next time just join us and let me know in the chat box that you have arrived.  So, like I said, here is a globe…”

“Mrs. Burwell!”

“Yes, Amy?”

“I am sorry that I interrupted the call.  Next time I will use the chat box.”

“Thank you Amy.  So, on a globe, there are invisible lines of location called….  Hey, kids?  I can hear a trumpet practice in the background.  Everyone look at your volume and make sure you are muted. Okay, thanks, okay, let’s get back to the lesson.  There are these invisible lines of location that are set at 15 degrees apart.  Wait.  I am echoing.  Do y’all hear an echo…echo…echo…?  I think that someone still has your volume on?  That is what causes echo.  Hey, again, will everyone please make sure that your microphones are muted….muted…muted?”

“Mrs. Burwell?”

“Let’s remember to use our ‘raise your hand’ feature and not interrupt.”

“Okay.”

(Student raises hand.)

“Yes, Riley?”

“Can I go use the bathroom?”

“Well, I mean, sure.  You don’t really have to ask me since you are at home.  Please just make sure that both your video and audio are muted.  Please.”

“Thanks Mrs. Burwell.  I will be right back.”

“Anyways, these lines that are on a globe are called ‘longitude’ and ‘lat…’”

“Mrs. Burwell?  Do we have homework?”

“Kids, let’s remember to use the ‘raise your hand’ feature.  Do you have homework?  Well, in one way, everything you do right now is HOME-work.  Ha!  Get it?”

(Total silence.  Not one laugh.  Not even a muted smile.)

“Alright, anyways, yes you will have homework.  We will get to that after the mini-lesson.”

“Mrs. Burwell?

“Yes, Riley?”

“I’m back from the bathroom.”

“Thank you, Riley.  Next time, you don’t have to tell me.  Just put it in the chat box.  Ok, back to the lesson.  Longitude and latitude.  These are very important features in geography. Wait.  Um, Jason?”

“Yes, Mrs Burwell?”

“Hey, does your mom know that your camera is on?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, you might tell her.  I just don’t think she would want us to watch her crawling on the floor cleaning.”

“Oh.  Yeah.  Hey Mom!  You might want to…”

“Jason!  Hon, can you mute yourself?”

“Sure, Mrs. Burwell.”

“Ok.  Oh, Riley, do you have a question?”

“Oh, no, sorry, I left that on from earlier.”

“Ok.  Kids, let’s remember to turn off the ‘raise your hand’ feature once you are done with your question.  Well, back to the lesson.  Oh, actually, it looks like our time is about to end.  I will see you tomorrow, same time, same place, and of course, same lesson.”

“Hey, Mrs. Burwell?”

“Yes, Nora?”

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes, Nora.”

“I really like this class.”

"Thank you, Nora.  Me too."

I promise you that every scenario that I just described has actually occurred in the past few weeks.  Names have been changed to protect the guilty.  Now, about online teaching...  It isn't my favorite.  (That his what we teach our kids to say when they hate something.)  I want to see my students' real faces, know how tall they are, give them fist bumps.  But, I will say this...I do feel like I am connecting with many of them.  While there are some students who "hide" from me every day, there are others who are engaged, learning, and writing me notes that I am their favorite teacher.  Awww....how sweet...and I need that kind of encouragement these days!  (I usually answer notes like this with, "Well, YOU are my favorite student.  But ssshhhh...don't tell the others!")  

I pray that we are back F2F (face to face) soon, and that we STAY that way.  I am ready for my online teaching career to wrap up, thank you very much.  

I hope all is well with you and yours, as you experience the strangest school year ever.  Dear Lord, please send us back to school, and keep us safe.  We need you.  Amen.

17 More Hours of Summer Vacation Left...

Like thousands of teachers around the Atlanta area at this very moment, I am counting the hours that I have left of summer vacation.  Usually summers feel so quick, but this one has been EVER-LASTING.  For one reason, it kind of started in mid-March.  I mean, not really, but yes, really.  That is when my kids and I began spending, um, every waking moment together.  (Courtesy of Fulton County Teleschool!)  So, yeah, I am pretty okay with going back to work tomorrow.

But people, it is going to be weird.
No hugs, no visible smiles, no large gatherings, no applauding.
It's pre-planning, Covid-style.
😷

So, I need a pep talk.  (Maybe you do too, if you are a fellow teacher.)
I want to remember WHY I am a teacher.  I need some pre-inspiration for pre-planning.

Here goes....

I worked my (cute little) tail off to get my job.  I am so glad that Taylor Road Middle School admins gave me the chance to prove that I could teach 6th graders!  I don't do it for the money.  (Clearly.)  Or the ease.  (Have YOU ever been blessed out by a Karen-helicopter-mama with regards to her son's test grade?!)
I do it for the kids.  I love those kids...like 99% of them.  (I know you get that and you won't judge me.)

I keep thinking about the kind of summer experiences that some of my 150 future students are having...They watch TV until there are no Netflix shows left to be watched.  They play Xbox games to level 1,000.  They wear out local cellphone towers.  And now, now they must gaze into the black mirrors (their device screens) for hours a day, rather than GOING to school.  Some students have immuno-compromised siblings or parents, and so they have barely ventured outside the house in months. 

(Disclaimer:  Please don't read anything into that statement. I know that our leaders could not win with this decision they had to make, either way.  I love my bosses, for real.  Their heart is to keep us safe.)

On August 17th, I get to meet my kids.  I get to give them a big smile and make them laugh and teach them Social Studies stuff.  I get to begin to build a "family" of 6th graders, albeit a remote learning one.  I get to connect with them, and help them connect with each other.  They have the strangest first-day-of-middle-school in recent history.  But I get to help them through it.  I have quite a privilege.  And if I get irritated at how I have to do things or what kind of rules that I have to follow, I will lose my joy and potentially lose the chance to really love these kids well.  I will be full of ME and there won't be room in my heart for THEM.  May it never be.

So, 17 hours until I get to prepare to bring laughter, knowledge, and love into 150 homes around Johns Creek.  Yay!  I feel inspired already!