What Cross Country Taught Me about Teaching in a Pandemic

"NOW this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky,

And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back;

For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack."

-Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book

My students and I are communicating. 

We are connecting and providing feedback to one another. 

We are developing classroom culture, becoming a team.

We finally know each other. We have developed a rapport. 

We are on the same page in terms of expectations--both theirs of me and mine of them--

and we get what we're doing. Both the what and the why.

But there has been something missing as I process what the return to school has been like. This experience of restarting school in the face of COVID-related restrictions, precautions and protocols has taken a toll on teachers and students, alike, but the demand on educators to juggle the management and nimble dynamism required to lead initiatives and shift constantly has been tremendous. 

One element that has been largely absent in the return to school has been the collaborative team mentality of groups of teachers. While there are certainly ways to prioritize connection, nothing is simple and we need each other. We need each other badly.

One thing I get to do each day is coach our school's 7-9 grade cross country team. I run with the kids and we talk lots about whatever it is that crosses our minds. I've been thinking lots about what makes a team--specifically a running team--and what I've learned, and can continue to learn, having run cross country throughout high school and college that could help me be apply those lessons to my role as a member of a teacher team as well.

Here are my three lessons.

1) Take what the hill gives you (but never stop moving)

On a cross country course, everyone experiences the exact same terrain. Each step run is experienced is shared, suffered, endured together. There are no shortcuts. And those hills? They challenge us. They sometimes slow us down, and we sometimes charge up them. But to stay on our feet and to maintain our energy for the course ahead, we've got to take what the hill gives us and to never stop moving.

2) Every step counts

This one is more about training, but it goes for races as well. Every step you take as a runner matters. You can't rely on ability on a cross country team, you simply have to put in the work and find the time to prioritize what you want to do. Today found me spending two minutes of found professional development with two colleagues on campus. It was only two minutes. TWO! We were off to other responsibilities, but it mattered. It counted. It will result in a greater, brighter, more successful tomorrow. And, of course,  the same is true of my relationships with my amazing students...every moment of meaningful connection counts.

3) Focus on your teammates, not your opponents

In a race it is tempting to go hunting for the jerseys of the opposition. We know who the other runners are on the teams agains whom we're racing, and we want to run them into the ground. But as any xc runner knows, running as a pack is far more effective, as a pack of three runners from the same school will push any runner they pass back three places if they pass them, rather than just one. If we challenge our teammates to go with us as we pass them, or if we push to catch up with a teammate on the trail ahead, we remind them that they are not alone. Running (and teaching) can be lonely, and it can feel like an island at times...but it's not. It never is, and it's our teammates--not our opponents--remind us of that.

4) Turn your opponents into partners 

Whether a hill, or another runner, or a cramp in your side, noticing the barriers you face and getting comfortable with them is a key element to being part of a team. I used to meet mid-race cramps or tightness with a welcome, "Oh hello...there you are. I was wondering when you'd arrive." As someone who has struggled with anxiety all my life, planning ahead and having phrases and breathing-related responses to pain and discomfort was pivotal in my resilience and success. The same is true as a teacher. I don't catastrophize, but I do make a plan to respond in a moment of stress or strain...sometimes, when an opponent comes up on your shoulder, or an unpredictable obstacle blocks your path, you just need to turn it into an opportunity, take a second to survey the situation and tell it, "Okay, let's go...it's you and me, and as long as neither of us budge, we're in this together.

COVID-19 is in this journey with us. And yes, it's terribly challenging: an obstacle to our teaching, to the ways we've always done things, and to our relationships with our colleagues as teachers.

But if we can take what the hill gives us,

believe that every step counts,

focus on our teammates,

and turn our opponents into partners,

we will be okay. 

We will be tired. There will be moments where we want to give up. And not all of us will finish with the same amount of energy, but we are in it together, battling and resilient, reminding ourselves (through our relationship with one another) why we once fell in love with the joy this pursuit brought us.