Hello CONNECTors!

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Hello CONNECTors!

The past year has been one that no one could have predicted. I know that personally and professionally I was not equipped for such a year. My pandemic teaching started right after my district went on strike, meaning I hadn’t seen students between March 2020 and April 2021. In addition, I had a baby during a pandemic and at the beginning of a distance learning school year. When I “went” back to teaching, I had to quickly learn who my students were, reconnect with those who lost their way in distance learning, and teach lessons where students were engaged and thinking. 

Times were tough all around, but before my district was scheduled to return to in-person teaching, the MCTM Spring Conference rolled around. At the conference, I was constantly virtually surrounded by colleagues around the state and country, that we must move forward. We must move forward with lessons we learned from the pandemic. One lesson I learned was that we can’t return to the normal way of things because that way didn’t work for all students. So we ask ourselves what did work and what do we want to carry forward with us? And not only for our students, but what do we want to carry forward for us as math teachers and a math educator community?

This past summer and this first month of school, I spent a lot of time thinking about how our community can and should move forward. I learned that moving forward must be inclusive of our whole community, must be considerate of our time, must continue to foster learning from each other, and must expand how we interact with each other. So here is my attempt to move us forward together. FACEBOOK LIVE! (and on Instagram and possibly Twitter). The reason why I am moving CONNECT forward in this way is that it keeps all of us safe while continuing to build our community. It is also a way for anyone anywhere to join us. In the past, our Math Mixers have been inclusive only for those who live near or those who found the energy to join. With Facebook Live, we hope to connect all of you with us and each other to keep CONNECT moving forward.

Please look for our first Facebook Live in mid to late October. We will have a place for you to sign up to join us on a Google Meet if Facebook is not your platform of choice. In the meantime, join our Facebook Group, MCTM CONNECT. That is where we will stream our live chats. I hope to see all of you there and let’s re-CONNECT!

May Vang Swanson