Thursday morning. I walked into the classroom, and the lights did not click on. (They have an automatic sensor.) The room was stuffy. (The a/c is on a constant vent air due to Covid. It might not blow cold, but something should have been blowing.)
The power was out.
Before I had a chance to panic, I glanced at my phone. I had a text from the school's secretary:
Good morning. Mr. L [the principal] sent out a message instructing teachers to teach from home today. There has been a power outage.
Um...
If you recall from last week, my car was once again in the shop. Yes, it had been a week, but it was not yet done. (I got it back later that day.) The nice person who had given me a ride had dropped me off and left.
I called her and politely asked her to turn around and retrieve me.
Then it was a scramble. What did I need from the classroom? Being on a long-term gig, I knew what the plans for the day were. I had been leaving the flash drive with the PowerPoints for class lectures at school. (Considering getting pulled and car trouble, I wanted to make sure if I wasn't there, whoever was could keep the class going.)
I grabbed the flash drive. I grabbed the page the economics class was going to do. And then I waited for my ride to retrieve me.
I had taught at home for a couple months (November through March, to be exact), so I had this. Right?
Well... First period suffered through my technical difficulties. But by third, things were going pretty smoothly. Their teacher, Mrs. O, had scrambled to post the notes and the assignment for the day, so all I had to do was present things.
I got it done. At least this wasn't a new thing, teaching from home. And I could do it without a mask. Small victories.
(There had been a car accident that took out the power to that area. They hoped to have it restored for Friday. Or, the district would bring in generators.)
Why do people assume everyone will get a text? And one last minute? I bet they knew long before you got that text.
ReplyDeleteThe teachers are all connected via some system called Remind. Subs aren't on it.
DeleteOh! That's too bad.
DeleteDoes it occur to anyone that not everyone has texting capabilities? In my area there are a lot of people who don't even have internet! What happened to sending out a taped voice message by phone? I think it's up to the sender to make sure it's received, not the other way around. "Well I sent it..." is a poor excuse. Glad it worked out. Sorry about the car.
ReplyDeleteThe joys of technology...
DeleteWith all this school at home no one's ever going to get days off for weather anymore.
ReplyDeleteUgh, sorry you had to get all the way there just to turn around.
ReplyDeleteHopefully a pleasant teaching day made up for it a bit?
It was a bit of a mess, but it was nice not to have to drive all the way back and to the car repair shop.
DeleteOur school has decided that they will have a few snow days, but if the weather is really bad this winter they might have to use remote teaching,
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice option.
DeleteI would clueless if something like this happen in my area. Than what?
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on and stay safe
Crap....would have been nice if you had seen that text before going in, but then again you needed your supplies. What is the deal with the car?
ReplyDeleteThe text didn't go out until I was in transit. I don't look at my phone in the car. So, I wouldn't have gotten it in time, anyway. Besides, I needed things from the classroom, so it was good I did get on campus for a bit.
DeleteIn my area, there are areas which are "dead zones". Due to topography or other factors, there are enough pockets with no cell phone service, especially if you live in a rural part of the county (and enough people do). Is there any reason why the subs can't be added to this communication system the full time teachers are on? Your fortunate that your ride was able to come back and get you. Happy it all worked out in the end.
ReplyDeleteI suppose we could be added, but since we work for the district at large, and each school has its own system...
DeleteWith cases going up the way they are it's probably a good thing you're used to teaching from home.
ReplyDeleteMy state seems to be doing pretty well right now. I thought we might have to close down again, but I don't think it's going to play out that way.
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