August 6 Day 151: Not Really that Surprised

And just like that—any class that can be taught remotely, will be taught remotely.

I’m not surprised. We would have to be in Phase 3 for face-to-face classes and Pierce County, WA is not even close. Yes, there are more than seven weeks to turn things around (UW Tacoma is on a quarter system and our first day of class is September 30), but realistically, this was the right call to make and the right time to make it.

Good thing I purposefully waited to begin planning my Autumn courses until this shoe officially dropped. So what does it mean for me?

• There is a reason to continue this blog for the foreseeable future.
• My summer hiatus is not over yet but I will start to ramp up posts as the beginning of school looms (for some of you in as early as two weeks if you are on the “start-early-end-before-Thanksgiving” schedule like my son at St. Olaf.)
• It’s time to reflect on the lessons from Spring 2020, to learn from my mistakes, and to make Autumn the best learning experience that I can for my students.

I’ve already started corresponding with an incoming UW Tacoma transfer student. I must say, I find it encouraging. They wrote, “At this point, I just miss being around people! We’ll get through it! Then we can get back to campus soon! This is my first year at UW . . . and i was so very excited!” They are inspiring me to plan a class worthy of their optimism and excitement.