Returning to the Schoolhouse: Why is it so Painful?

previously published in the Detroit Free Press

During the year and a half that I taught high school virtually, I underwent a transformation. The chance to work more flexibly and efficiently, along with the absence of interactions with anyone oozing negativity, left me with energy I hadn’t felt during a school year ever. I was less burnt out, more present, and able to read, write, and create outside of the classroom. My students also shifted into more flexible patterns that allowed them more time for hobbies, for work, or for helping out their…