A Guest Post by Erik Keiser —
Most mornings I start my day with my normal routine – walk the dog, shower, get dressed, pour myself a big cup of coffee and head off to work. Except lately, like a lot of people these days, work means heading straight back to my bedroom and opening up the ever-faithful Zoom app on my computer. Working from home can really be wonderful. It’s convenient, the commute is really short, and I can always bring my dog to the “office.” But when I first started teaching with Baby Fingers five years ago, I never could have imagined that I would be teaching solely from my bedroom.
I love being in the classroom. Whether it’s a daycare center, school, library, or yoga studio, I love the energy that the kids and families bring each and every class. And I miss it every day. I miss the high-fives and handshakes we do at the end of each class to say goodbye. I miss singing and dancing and being silly together all in the same room. I miss being able to comfort a student who’s having a hard day. I miss that in-person connection and feeling the excitement in the air when a baby shows us their first sign and makes huge progress right before our very eyes.
Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching virtually as well and really love all of the wonderful families that have come into my life since the pandemic began. Being able to still teach from home and see all those smiling faces each day has done wonders for my mental health and kept me grounded throughout everything. But it was not the easiest of transitions. I’ll be honest – my very first day of online teaching really threw me for a loop. I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. You would have thought I had never done this before! And I went into that class so prepared, or at least I thought I had. I knew that my teaching style would have to change significantly from what I had been doing in the classroom. There was a new fresh set of challenges that I had not anticipated. Sometimes trying to keep a child focused and engaged in the classroom can be a bit of a challenge and you have to get a little creative, but trying to do the same thing at home through a tiny little computer screen is a whole different ball game. I felt like my students were disengaging in such a different way and none of the usual tricks I keep up my teacher’s sleeve at all times were working. I wasn’t getting through to them and connecting with them in the way I always used to. And on top of that I live with roommates who are also having to work from home now, so just scheduling and being able to find a quiet place to set up my teaching area felt like a struggle. I felt frustrated and disappointed in myself and my skills. I didn’t know if or how I was going to be able to make a connection with my students. I felt like I was letting all of my kids down. After that first class I knew I had to completely shake up my tactics.
That’s when I started turning my room into a fun, silly, temporary classroom. Being an actor and the child of a teacher, I know a few things about improvising and getting creative. It’s always been my strongest problem solving technique. So I leaned into that extra creative side of my brain and got to work. There are now stuffed animals lining the walls with colorful scarves, books, wipe-off boards, flashcards, games, toys, alphabet stickers, and musical instruments everywhere. I reached out to other teachers for advice and ideas. And each class I’ve learned something new and tried something different. Over the past year I have been able to continue to fine tune what works and what doesn’t, creating a system for myself and all my kids and families that join me each week. It gave me the freedom to cut myself some slack and helped me realize that I wasn’t a bad teacher at the beginning of the pandemic. I was living through something unique and scary and difficult. Who was I to think that I would have all the answers from the start? Of course the transition was going to be a little messy and a little unnerving. That seems perfectly reasonable given the circumstances. I just needed to get creative.
And I’m so glad I did. The fear and nerves are gone. I don’t feel like an imposter anymore like I did that first class. Teaching is joyful. Every class makes me smile and laugh and learn and grow along with my students. Sure, there are still moments that can get frustrating, and I wish we were back in the classroom because it all would just be so much easier for everyone. But then a student has a breakthrough in class and I see the pride filling up their eyes, and I know that we can do this. And it makes me so happy to know that I can still be there for these kids and families through all of this, just like they have always been there for me.