In the Trenches: Looking Back at 2021/2022

To close out my blog posts for the school year, I interviewed eight public school teachers and librarians. They asked to remain anonymous, but here is a summary of their teaching assignments this year:

• High school family and consumer science
• Middle school library
• Middle school English language arts
• Middle school math
• Elementary library
• Elementary science
• Elementary art
• Elementary English language arts

I knew it was a tough year, possibly made tougher by the fact that we all hoped it couldn’t get worse than 2021. I asked the teachers to reflect on their experiences, hopes, growth, and struggles.  I’ll let their unedited responses speak for themselves. My hope is that you see yourself reflected in their stories and know that you are not alone. Your struggles were felt by teachers everywhere. Here’s to the end of the 2021/2022 school year!

What are three words you would use to describe the 2021/2022 school year?

• “Exhausting, frustrating, censorship”
• “Overwhelming, the hardest, and perpetual”
• “Exhausting, corrupted, woebegone”
• “Stressful, challenging, unprecedented”
• “Draining, challenging, difficult”
• “Challenging, rewarding, uneasy”
• “Long, longer, longest”
• “Overwhelming, ‘new normal’, uneven”
• “Exhausting time warp”
• “Change, uncertainty, hope”

What was your biggest challenge during the 2021/2022 school year?

• “Book banning/censorship issues from parents and the community”
• “The mandates and demands were clear as mud as I tried to navigate the school year as a professional, a parent, and personally”
• “Student behaviors — acting out and apathy”
• “Adjusting my curriculum to the needs of the students — many had never or had barely been in a library (K-3). I had to adjust my expectations as well!”
• “Lack of support from students and parents when dealing with behavior”
• “Lack of respect from students, lack of support from parents at home”
• “Managing challenging in-class student behaviors while simultaneously teaching online students”
• “Trying to plan a more ‘normal’ year and recognizing the VAST gaps between students (emotionally and academically)”
• “Feeling more exhausted than last year”
• “Continual change and big decisions being made that teachers have to follow through with but our voices and thoughts weren’t heard in the process of the decision making”

What was your biggest surprise about the 2021/2022 school year?

• “My biggest surprise was how many kids are still reading and loving books despite the inconsistency with schooling/library visits the past two years.”
• “I was staying late and the last one to leave the parking lot. There just were not enough hours to complete all the tasks without taking from my personal life.”
• “The learning gap”
• “Teachers were more open to collaboration or participating in events that I proposed.”
• “It took a longer amount of time to find a groove, I’m not sure we will ever get back the rigor and accountability that we had before covid.”
• “Seeing our community elect three anti-public-education board members.”
• “How excited we all were to be moving throughout the building again, and reopening the library to all!”
• “Feeling more exhausted than last year. The other big surprise was how slowly the first half of the year seemed to go and now how quickly it seems to be moving.”
• “I’ve been surprised by how bold students are. It’s got its positives and negatives, but middle school students are much more open with how they feel in class and don’t have a built-in respect for authority like they did 10 years ago.”

How could your administration and/or community support you better in the upcoming school year?

• “The community could best support me (and all librarians) by understanding that we are trained professionals who have the best interests of our students at heart. We are not trying to do anything but instill a love of literacy in children and offer a variety of books that reflect all of the diverse experiences.”
• “Grace and time; remove some of the demands from our plates.”
• “Take discipline issues seriously and handle them appropriately. Parents need to model respect for education so that kids come to school ready and willing to learn.”
• “They need to understand that these students need way more SEL [social emotional learning] than any students before. They need to allow us to slow things down!”
• “I have a wonderful administration (at the building level) who has made this year bearable. The community could recognize the importance of education and hold their children accountable and stop trying to actively harm teachers and students by attempting to ban books and actual history.”
• “Stress the importance of accountability and utilizing tools (like Schoology gradebook) that serve as means of communication without requiring the educator to do more work.”
• “Clear, consistent discipline expectations for all!”
• “I would like them to recognize us as humans doing the best we can with what we have. Currently some very toxic and loud people are on the microphones at school board meetings. It is disheartening to say the least.”
• “Our administration is amazingly supportive.”
• “I think I would feel supported if I was trusted as a professional and my opinion mattered.”

How did you grow during the 2021/2022 as a professional and/or a person?

• “I definitely learned a lot more about censorship and the ALA Bill of Rights! But I think what I learned most is to be flexible and patient. Usually I’m the type of person that wants things done AS SOON AS POSSIBLE and sometimes, especially given the difficulties of this year, that wasn’t always going to happen. I also grew even closer to the librarians in the county, as we all leaned on each other during this time (given the book banning issues). Librarians can sometimes feel very isolated and I learned it is even more important to lean on others!”
• “At the end of the year a coworker sent out a communication where she acknowledged that I was bettering myself by taking two classes and mini-trainings that year. They were not grad classes, they were for other areas I wanted to grow in and she noticed and was kind enough to shout it out! She said something like “while everyone else was treading water and barely getting by, she was investing time in learning and focusing on things she could control and improve!” That note was unexpected but really spoke volumes to me!”
• “Learning to personalize on a student-by-student level. Reimagining all lessons to meet kids where they are. Assuming nothing about what students know.”
• “My volunteer work with my state school library association has given me a deeper understanding of the power of the school librarian! As librarians, we see now more than ever the importance of having a collection development policy as well as a challenge policy. It is so very important for us to recommit to intellectual freedom and the students’ right to read!”
• “I set clear boundaries between my work and personal life.”
• “Greater flexibility for change, learning not to sweat the small stuff, and learned to respect and value my personal time”
• “I became more empathetic toward students challenged by mental health issues, as my understanding of these issues has been shaped by in-service training.”
• “I continued to take grad classes to get an online teaching endorsement, welcomed back 3rd graders into my teaching, and mostly kept my exercise habits in place.”
• “I am a bit more flexible.”
• “I feel like I’ve learned that it’s OK not to know all of the answers, and I’ve definitely grown from living in uncertainty. Professionally, I’ve also learned that it is OK to say no when asked to do something beyond my basic job if it’s going to mean I’m going to hold resentment about it or not have time for a life outside of work. Ultimately, all of us teachers are replaceable.”

Please share a success story, positive anecdote, or encouragement about the 2021/2022 school year.

• “One piece of encouragement that carries me through the year is hearing a student at the HS say that a book she was reading (that she got from the library) was helping her through a tough time in her life. That’s why we do what we do!”
• “God only gives us what we can handle! I learned so much during 21/22 because I was out of my comfort zone. I surely don’t want to repeat it. I hope that the lessons I have learned in the hardest year yet, that I don’t allow history to repeat itself (at my expense). May I grow and learn.”
• “I have built strong relationships with many students this year. Parents reported at conferences that they feel I am providing space for their kids to grow as writers and learners.”
• “I started a Library Ambassador group with 20 fourth grade students. I gave them $500 of my book budget, and we are curating a list of books to purchase for next fall. They are so very enthusiastic. Thanks to the Book Wrangler for the inspiration.”
• “In our 6th grade wax museum (where learners research someone with heroic qualities), one of my learners chose Mae Jemison. I learned that Jemison was speaking at a local university and sent the information to this learner and her parents. She and her dad attended and there was a Q&A session after the talk. This quiet learner got to ask a question! She literally spoke to her “hero” in a filled auditorium.”
• “The kids are resilient. They just need us to be consistent and keep our promises to them.”
• “Having storytime with 3rd graders sometimes throughout the year – their joy and excitement is palpable! This week we read “The Cool Bean” by Jory John and then they created their own funny food character based on their birthdate and the first letter of their name (from a menu) – they loved it!”
• “Kids are resilient and have shown so much maturity through a really tough couple of years. The best part about teaching is the students, and it’s important to focus on that when things seem tough.”

I am continually in awe of these professionals. I am very grateful for these eight teachers who took time to respond to my questions and reflect on their experiences over the past year. While the themes throughout the responses included exhaustion, frustration, and stress, I also saw hope and a passion for kids that doesn’t depend on circumstances.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about the 2021/2022 school year. What resonates with you from these responses? What would you have added? We here at STEM Education Works wish you smooth sailing through these last few weeks and a very restful summer.