{"id":543,"date":"2020-08-17T20:44:53","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T20:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catherinedenial.org\/blog\/?p=543"},"modified":"2020-08-17T20:44:53","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T20:44:53","slug":"it-can-all-be-changed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catherinedenial.org\/blog\/uncategorized\/it-can-all-be-changed\/","title":{"rendered":"It Can All Be Changed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summer is winding down, and fall classes are around the corner; some have already begun, depending on the institution. If you’re like me, you’re anticipating fall while still trying to wring those last drops of meaning out of August, and if you\u2019re like me, you\u2019re doing so while tired, fractious, overwhelmed, and feeling really done with the pandemic (as if the pandemic cares how we feel).\u00a0 So many of us have been working all summer to be ready for fall\u2014not just on our courses, or on our research (if we\u2019ve been lucky enough to get any of that done), but on caregiving for our children and elders, our communities, our neighbors, and ourselves.\u00a0 If you\u2019re like me, you\u2019re wondering how to gather up all the fortitude you have and launch into teaching again without any real break.<\/p>\n

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By Jake Colvin, from pexels.com<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s a lot of (really useful!) advice being passed around twitter right now about starting the semester with integrity, and creating kind and responsive syllabi, and building community using modalities we may not have used before.\u00a0 It\u2019s the best part of of the site\u2014and sometimes it can be a little overwhelming.\u00a0 And so I want to offer one single piece of advice to absolutely all of us, including myself:<\/p>\n

It can all be changed.<\/p>\n

Synchronous, asynchronous, meticulously planned or flying by the seat of our pants \u2013 everything we have spent time putting together can be changed.\u00a0 If the assignment goes down like a lead balloon, or the students hate Zoom (or you hate Zoom); if no one can work out how to use Flipgrid, and everyone gets locked out of the LMS; if a reading hits and if a reading falters; if a conversation doesn\u2019t get off the ground; if a syllabus policy proves completely out of step with what the world looks like in October; if someone plugs in the toaster at the same time as the coffeepot and fuses are (literally and figuratively) blown . . .<\/p>\n

It can all be changed.<\/p>\n

This fall will ask more of us than we\u2019ve ever had to supply before.\u00a0 But truly, the only way we can screw this up is if we believe that what we have on paper (or on our screens or in our ears) right now is unassailable.\u00a0 Whatever happens\u2014whatever demands are made of our brains, our bodies, our hearts, our spirits\u2014we can change what we\u2019d planned to reflect how things actually are. \u00a0And that means extending to ourselves the greatest compassion, taking that day off, teaching with our kids in our laps, laughing when the absurdity hits, spending time on the floor with the dog (or the cat), coming back to the next class and saying \u201cso that sucked, huh?\u201d and building something new.<\/p>\n

None of us are superheroes.\u00a0 We\u2019re as muddled and worried and sick and frightened and hopeful and inventive and grateful as any other person we can keep six feet of distance from while wearing a mask right now.\u00a0 But with a little grace in our back pocket we can do this, if we just remember:<\/p>\n

It can all be changed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summer is winding down, and fall classes are around the corner; some have already begun, depending on the institution. If you’re like me, you’re anticipating fall while still trying to wring those last drops of meaning out of August, and if you\u2019re like me, you\u2019re doing so while tired, fractious, overwhelmed, and feeling really done with the pandemic (as if the pandemic cares how we feel).\u00a0 So many of us have been working all summer to be ready for fall\u2014not…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catherinedenial.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catherinedenial.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catherinedenial.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catherinedenial.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catherinedenial.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catherinedenial.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catherinedenial.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catherinedenial.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catherinedenial.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}