Head of School Update: Saturday, April 25, 2020

Teachers know their students at JH Classical Academy, and students know our expectations for learning.  The protocol for virtual learning hasn’t changed much from in-person learning.  Students wear uniforms; teachers wear ties.  Students are ready to learn; teachers deliver meaningful lessons. Students raise their hand; teachers lead discussions.  Students are evaluated; teachers offer support.  Students are responsible; teachers are accountable.  When homework is not passed in or class is disrupted, teachers inform parents to determine what will alter such behavior and help the student become successful.  Fundamentally, what we are doing hasn’t changed, although important indirect learning opportunities are lost online.  

 

Aristotle taught us that “excellence is not an action, but a habit.” Spontaneous acts of good character do surface in crisis, but when the sprint turns into a marathon it becomes a matter of endurance.  Endurance is doing what we were trained to do, what is right and necessary, even under pressure.  Parents haven’t been able to fully protect children from fear, anger, or pain during this world-wide pandemic, which arrived out of our control and changed our daily life rather dramatically.  However, you have chosen to put your children in a school community that supports our universal need to build habits of attention, self-control, and integrity in order to endure, and even thrive, during difficulty when creatively turning hardship into something good.

 

Although I have personally adjusted to the new normal, by intentionally creating the needed spaces and schedules, I’m finding that after Zooming most of the day I’m more tired than usual.  When we gather in person, our bodies are able to “say” things through non-verbal cues that we don’t have to “think” about otherwise.  Our teachers are chosen for their ability to be models, guides, and mentors of students because so much learning is transferred through actions over words. When working through an on-line platform, our “thinking” brain is compelled to make up for what our “body” normally communicates through eye contact, tone of voice, body language, facial expressions, timing of speech, intensity of response, or physical touch.  Our unconscious bodies work to love and be loved, to know and be known, even without the use of words.  The challenge of working to convey more of what makes us human through the channel of zoom is taxing. Therefore, it makes sense to be more tired at the end of a virtual day.  

 

Consequently, we are making Friday, May 1^st an “Off-Screen Day of Learning." It is a day to focus on movement, connect with others, and catch up on our studies. Students will have a day with no virtual lessons to pursue the optional art, music, chess, and PE offerings with parents at their leisure.  Perhaps students could recite poetry memorized earlier this year?  Faculty will have a day to prepare lessons and copy new learning packets.  Movement is needed.  I’ve added a standing desk to my room and take a walk with one of my children every day to combat the fatigue of screens.  This Friday, everyone can put down their devices, get outside, breathe deeply, and set their legs in motion for a very long walk.  We are so blessed to be quarantined in the beauty and spaciousness of Wyoming.