To Class 2020....

Epilogue … to a “book” that was written by you.

Well, these are my afterthoughts after having experienced some wonderful teaching presentations and after having read some great reflections!

As some of you were inspired and became creative during this time, the same way your work has inspired my thoughts and I am going to share them with you, as if I were writing on my Penzu. 

I know that sometimes you were pressed for time “telling yourself or your friends or even your parents how mean teachers are”. It is true, sometimes we are and remember you are teachers too 😉 

You all displayed your teaching skills during this course and I was happy to read your reasoning and arguments and the way of thinking, which was similar to that of an ambitious teacher. While reading your peer review comments, it felt like I was reading real teachers commenting and motivating their students. For a moment I forgot whether I was reading my students’ evaluation or those of a colleague. 

Why did you have to complete so many tasks and assignments? Usually, when we try something new or when we want to recommend something to our friends, we have to experience it ourselves. I could have convinced you with words or with studies how helpful technology or multimedia might be but if you never tried it yourself, would you have been convinced? I doubt it!

You all talked about the many times that you practiced before class and you all mentioned how good it felt to write to a “friend” whom you trust or to a team mate that you shared the work with. So, you all experienced the benefits of Cooperative Learning yourself and now you are able to recommend it to other peers or keep applying its principles in real life. This is only one simple example but there were numerous like this throughout these last four months. 

I was also glad to read that some of you went back to your childhood memories and some others experienced new things never lived before. Being a learner is not about what happens exclusively in the classroom but you also have to find ways how to relate to it and how it can stay with us for a long time. And it does stay once you have your emotional intelligence activated as well. 

Technology savvy teachers! This is definitely a statement that describes you best. You were not equipped with a formal certificate or with a formal assessment for something that you performed; on the contrary, you are equipped with real-life practical skills. You are more knowledgeable when it comes to integrating innovative tools and media into your teaching. You are more skilled and have improved your use of technology, thus, you are able to compete at the job market with some more advantages in your possession. 

A journey/experience, skills, knowledge, call it as you wish, that you have just embarked on! (these are only some of the terms that I came across while reading your work) I truly enjoyed this journey as a co-traveller and I wish you all to encounter as interesting “places” in the future as you have done so far!

Enjoy a well-deserved holiday!

Teacher Daniela 