If you are a teacher in a school that doesn’t have the resources to divide the teacher responsibilities between virtual and face-to-face, you are going through the worst of times. You are working two full time jobs for the lowly pay of a single teacher while also being a public health official fighting COVID. It would be lovely if those around you could lift your burdens. And believe me, the ones I know are racking their brains trying to find ways to help. But the reality of the situation is that those around you are limited also.  So no matter how much they want to relieve you of your burdens, they cannot.  So who can help you? You can! Here are a five suggestions as to how you could begin doing this.

1. Accept that you can’t make everyone happy. You can’t. Parents, family and administrators are frustrated and mad. And yes, you get dumped on. So what is new about that? You can’t fix COVID or any of the effects it has on anyone’s life. So stop trying. Accept it as you accept floods, tornadoes and hurricanes.  There is nothing you can do but prepare and hope for the best.
2. Accept the fact that you can’t level the playing field. Virtual learners and face-to-face learners have too many variables between them to control. Overly helpful family members, unsupportive or absent family members, time to Google every answer, technical issues and unlimited distractions are a few of these variables.  In reality, you can never level the playing field. Comparing virtual learning and face-to-face learning is like comparing apples and ducks. However you can try to make creative assignments that are personal and less “Googleable”. This will take some thought but your lessons will be more engaging and cheat-resistant.
3.  Make only one lesson plan. Yep. One. How on earth can that work if I am teaching virtual and face-to-face? Well, you have no choice but to make everything you do virtual so that is THE ONE PREP. Make your virtual lesson, then with your face-to-face students, improvise and facilitate using those same digital lessons. 
4. Learn shortcuts. You can start by taking the time(you don’t have) and reading a short article about short-cuts you can take in Google Classroom. Ten Google Classroom Time Savers for Teachers. It will save you more than the time you spent reading the article. 
5. Work like Chick-fil-A! Quit teaching one day a week. Designate a day that is off limits to email, phone calls, lesson planning and texts. Inform all those in your life, spouses, children, parents, admin, and students that you will not be available on this day. Make this a boundary that you will work toward and guard with every fiber of your being. And your one day off will make you better on the other 6 days. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Know that we love you and wish you the best!