Rethinking Normal: A Kindergarten Teacher Gains a New Perspective Through The Eyes of Her Students

Like many of you, I’ve been holding my breath since March, just waiting for everything to get back to normal. Spring felt like an endless series of tense moments, going from what I’d always done, teaching kindergarten in a classroom to attempting to replicate my classroom online. Spring morphed into a summer filled with hours in front of the computer, attempting to learn new platforms and new technology. Even as I prepared to teach online in the fall, I secretly prayed when September came, everything would miraculously go back to the normal we once knew.

This week, I welcomed my kindergarten students back to the classroom, but nothing is as it was. The normal I was craving, the normal I was longing for is gone. Tables have been replaced by desks spread across the classroom, six feet apart. Communal supplies have been divided up into small, individual boxes. Large carpets are gone and each child has their own small mat, placed on the floor beside their desk. It all looks very different.

I was still holding my breath when the students arrived. Masks on. Eyes bright. The energy in the room buzzed with excitement as they entered. This was the classroom they’d only seen through a small computer screen. These were their classmates they’d only seen in little boxes on the screen. Their mouths were covered, but their squeals of delight were unmistakable. I could feel their smiles through their masks and they no doubt, could feel mine.

It wasn’t normal. There were no tears. There were no meltdowns. Not one child cried, “I want my Mommy!” And as they sat at their very own desks they marveled over their very own boxes filled with their very own crayons and markers and scissors. They were happy to be in their space with their friends and their teacher.

It took 17, five and six year olds to show me how normal is just a state of mind. How life works best when we shift and bend, redefine and reinvent. Letting go of what we had and opening up to what could be. I finally took the exhale I’d been holding back for so many months.

And now I can breath again.