Well, here we are. The end of 2020. And still the craziness isn't over for so many people around the world. While here in Australia we are gaining confidence that we have beaten the Covid-19 virus, there are hundreds of thousands of new cases in other parts of the world.
​
Teachers and school leaders, you are amazing. Truly amazing. What you have done this year, the way you have moved to a new format for teaching and managed to keep your students supported and learning over simultaneous formats, is astounding.
​
We do hope you are taking some rest over this holiday period, assuming you are having one.
​
It has been busy this end though it doesn't feel like it has been effective. I imagine I am not the only one who thinks that.
​
For all the pain and insanity that 2020 brought, I still think that we have learned some amazing things through it.
​
We have learned that:

Teachers and schools are better able to manage tech than many give them credit for.

We can organise different ways of teaching and learning to suit different student needs.

For all its benefits, virtual platforms are not as valuable as face to face classes.

It is the relationships that matter most and children need those to learn well.

Schools and teachers are essential for the holistic wellbeing of children.

Just because we can do it doesn't mean we should.
​

The move to virtual made so many things possible that otherwise wouldn't have been. Staff-rooms became global and teachers found support and learning from colleagues thousands of miles away.
​

What we got to do:

We managed to host 4 different events during the #DIF (Digital Innovation Futures) Festival run by the Victorian Government every year. We were able to provide space for about a dozen educators to speak to issues such as the digital divide, (one of my soapboxes) and how fast teachers were able to move everything online in a fraction of the time it took business to do the same thing. The woman in charge said that We Teach Well is not a guest anymore, that they consider us to be program partners which is pretty cool.
​

I was able to present 2 full PD sessions on Facebook live to a community of teachers in India, as well as being on a panel to speak to Indian early childhood educators. The last was thanks to a Melbourne based colleague Pawan Lalwani from Language Your Way, who I met years ago. He has been a great support over the years.
​
One of the PD workshops for Indian teachers was on my favourite topic of cultural signifiers and decolonising literature. I was also able to present on the same topic to an English language teachers conference in Qatar. That was great fun and would never have been possible if it wasn't virtual.
​
​Podcast is coming !!!! Yeah​
​

​

Today I recorded the first episode for the World Lit podcast. Super exciting. It is with Gwee Li Sui, a poet, playwright and academic from Singapore and it was really fun. We are so grateful he agreed to chat with us. I am working everyday at the moment to schedule interviews. Probably not the best time to try and nail teachers but I will keep at it.
​
Actually, that is a bit of a fib, I am working and I did do the interview with Gwee today, but yesterday I found out that my beautiful Westie Nero, who I adopted in Singapore 11 years ago, is very ill and I need to say goodbye to him on Saturday. So I am spending the next few days spoiling him and making memories.

​

We are planning to launch the podcast on the 29th of January and we have been fortunate enough to get the help of some fabulous interns from Monash University to help with the preparation.

From those of us who are not in the classroom anymore, thank you for your work this year.

​
For now, we hope that all of you have a lovely new year and we look forward to speaking with you again in 2021.
​
Cheers
​
Carolyn and Judy
​