49thTeachers.com has partnered with Ontario-based educators to launch a COVID–19 crisis “Teacher Diary” blog. Over the past few months, a lot has changed in the world of education in Canada. Schools are still closed, teachers are pivoting to online learning, and parents are exploring homeschooling for the first time. What does daily life look like for teachers right now? What’s working in the new world of online classrooms, and what’s not? What can parents do at home with their kids? How can educators, parents, and students all cope with overwhelm, communicate more effectively, and support one another?
The opening blog post in the series, written by Peel District School Board Teacher-Librarian Allison Hall, explores the first 14 days of the life of an Ontario teacher during the coronavirus pandemic. “This is new territory for everyone,” says Ms. Hall. “We need to be available to listen to our students, to comfort them, to make them feel safe and to let them know that we will navigate this situation together.” Fellow Peel Teacher-Librarian Jonelle St. Aubyn shares concerns about equity and access in her blog post, coming next week: “As our time out of school continues, I want my students to continue to be able to learn, but it must be equitable and take into account the challenges that they face.” And York Region District School Board Teacher-Librarian Jennifer Byrne writes about the #ActivityoftheDay she’s sharing on Twitter, explaining: “I’m doing it because the sheer amount of stuff out there right now, while excellent, is extremely overwhelming. I figure this is just a tiny way I can help families navigate something to do each day.”
49thTeachers.com is a website where teachers and librarians can browse thousands of Canadian kids’ books and download free classroom resources. It is a completely free and publicly-funded initiative, with a simple yet powerful goal: to help educators bring more Canadian books into their classrooms and libraries.
49th Teachers is produced by the Ontario Book Publishers Organization (OBPO) in partnership with the Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) and with financial support from Ontario Creates.