Hello colleagues! We're a little stunned that we’ve arrived already at the end of Week 2, and we're so honored to be in the middle of this good, hard work with all of you.
We're wondering where all of you are in your own experience of this pandemic, and of your constantly evolving workload. In addition to the losses you may be experiencing in your personal lives, we want to acknowledge the fact that we are continually confronting the loss of some of our favorite parts of our pedagogy: extended field trips, live studio critiques, face-to-to face advising with students. We want to remind us all that it won’t be forever, and we also want to remind you that you get to tell multiple stories about what is happening to all of us. We know you all are projecting stability and strength for your students, who need your steady counsel now more than ever. You also get to be gentle with yourselves on the back end. You get to fall apart a little bit, especially as the weeks pile up. All of us have the opportunity to learn how to lean on each other better, and more mindfully--this is a relay race, not a sprint. The Keep Teaching Team is doing everything we can to respond to your requests for help, given our own limited resources. But even if we can’t meet a particular need in the short term, it’s still important for us to hear your requests, as we, collectively, advocate for the resources that are vital to sustaining meaningful, engaged pedagogy in this chaotic time. So keep your questions, suggestions, and requests coming. They matter. You matter.
Elizabeth Williamson
JuliA Metzker