I was recently interviewed for an oral history project. Besides it being an honor to be asked, it was exciting to share my poetry and my experiences in education during (COVID-19) this pandemic.
As I started to think beyond myself, and the deeper implications, I realized that future Scholars will have access to the authentic words, thoughts, and feelings of every teacher-poet that participants in this project.
I thought about several questions: What will they learn form our experiences? How will our words be interpreted / received? Will our poetry adequately depict what we are currently experiencing, what teaching is really like, the current climate, the atmosphere, and the circumstances of this time?
I really hope so. Ii think I can safely say, "Not many of us teachers ever expected that we would have to navigate teaching during a pandemic." I know I didn't.
Being a part of this project makes me proud (in a humble way) that my words are being used to document such a time as this.
I often think about how people will view this time and what we did during it.
ReplyDeleteI think I will look back myself with some anticipation of having learned something.
Yes, teaching during pandemic wasn't even in anyone's nightmares. I wonder what stories will sound the strongest as the time passes - the suffering and loss or the resilience and creativity ones.
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