My name is Michelle, I live in Bangkok, Thailand.I teach Grade 10 English Language Acquisition and co-teach Grade 7 Individuals Societies. I am also a Service Club adviser.My students' ages range from 12 to 16 years old.

Life as an international teacher requires you to be incredibly flexible as you move between countries, cultures, and schools. However, nothing has required as much of a willingness to adapt and evolve my practice as being locked in my apartment and having to reinvent my approach to the classroom.

Teaching digitally has been much easier than I anticipated. To be honest, it has pushed my practice and approach to the classroom ahead in more ways than I can count, and the effects are still mounting. I am grateful for that - silver linings! But there are brewing storm clouds too.

The Slow Unraveling

I’ve been locked in my apartment for 2 weeks with at least a month to go according to the last update from the government. I have one of my daughters here with me and we are trying to keep each other distracted between our classes. Most of our friends and loved ones are in other countries and the sense of being absolutely alone creeps in unexpectedly at times. I don’t know when I will see my oldest daughter again and I can’t protect her from half the world away. Then this morning the call came that my mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, has been put into ICU with pneumonia, a mass in her lungs, and may have Covid19.

I can’t imagine how afraid or lonely she must feel. Even if I could get a flight from Bangkok to Houston, I wouldn’t be allowed in the hospital to see her. We, like so many, are locked down and unable to reach each other. I think that is the largest stress inducer for me – all control of this situation is out of my hands.

Until she became ill, there was no one thing that has been overly difficult, but concerns for the people I love, nonstop news updates, school emails, student messages laced with anxiety and fear, and learning new platforms and tech solutions all are adding up. As a teacher, it is hard to swallow the total lack of control over anything around me. The inability to create an entirely safe space for my students, daughters, or even myself. Below I’ve shared what has been helping me brave the storm. I hope you find something here that helps you too.

Advice from Lockdown

Relax

Take a deep breath and remember that no matter what, you are still the amazing teacher you were before your school closed. You will continue to be that teacher and your stress and worry for how you will keep teaching today is proof that you are dedicated and committed to reaching your students.

Start over

Your students are not only adapting to your new class and ways of digital teaching. They are also adapting to every other teacher they have and their new systems. Treat the first week like the first week of any school year. Teach expectations, set boundaries, get to know your kids in this new way, find a new balance and a new norm.

Slow down

The biggest surprise to me was how little work my students were able to accomplish in the same amount of time. Even if I kept them in Zoom with me to complete something, they fumbled and struggled to get the task done. We take it for granted that they are digital wizards because they live on their devices all day. They don’t have any more experience at this than we do, and they need time.

Laser Focus

Look at your lessons and decide what the most important things are for your students to master and keep your focus on those critical components. Add in the rest if you have time, but lock a laser focus on the heart of the topics and achieve those goals first.

Walk away

Do not let yourself fall into the trap of confusing down time and work time. Just because you moved your work to your home, doesn’t mean it should dominate your life. You and your students need you at peak mental and emotional health right now. Take breaks, walk away, and don’t let this overtake every part of your life. You are living in this crisis too. You have mental, emotional, and physical needs too. See to them first so you have something left to give to your students when you hit week 3, 6, or 10 of school closures. Locked down? Have a Zoom game night or dinner with friends. Take walks. Have a life. You need it to sustain you.

Reach out

Remember you are not alone. Most teachers are in the same situation you are and we are all just figuring it out. Join a group where you can find resources and advice from other teachers like Educator Temporary School Closure Community. Don’t just Zoom with your students, have check-ins with your co-workers to see what they are doing. Don’t feel as if you are the only one struggling. We are all adapting and coming together like never before.

Lean in

In the end we will all come out of this as better teachers with countless hours of self-study professional development from all the new systems we are adapting to. So find your fellow teachers and learn from them, teach them, and stand strong. Show your students what it really looks like to embrace a life-long love of learning and take them on the journey with you.

Michelle Overman

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This piece is part of the Teacher Task Force’s #TeachersVoices campaign, created to bring forward the experiences of teachers working every day to ensure their students continue to benefit from a quality education despite the COVID-19 pandemic. To participate, go to our dedicated webpage.