We delayed our start by a week because of the Auckland floods
which were soon followed by another delay with Cyclone Gabrielle; then.....wait
for it...................most of our students' school accounts were disabled
because they had not been used for 6 weeks. As accounts were being reinstated,
we realised that most learners could not access GOOGLE; oh dear, I could feel
the grey hairs and wrinkles forming while my frustration grew by the hour.
During that period of limbo, we managed to have in-depth learning conversations
and used a combination of mini whiteboards and hard copies together with a few
non-Google online games/activities which learners participated in with much
confidence.
I kept reiterating to my learners that we needed to
manage our behaviour and levels of frustration during that time and to
focus on what we could or were willing to do regarding our learning/progress
(but that was more for me, to be quite honest).
By Thursday of week 4, all
students were able to access online resources and they sprang into action with
much enthusiasm, so I was not too surprised when one of my NCEA L1 and three of
my NCEA L2 students told me that they were confident enough to sit their first
assessment.
"Managing self" is one of the 5 Key Competencies in the NZ curriculum and my learners did that so well during that chaotic time, so it seems only natural that I make "Managing self" a goal this year (for learners, not me).
