RE Log Spring 2021

SPRING 2021 Ransom Everglades LOG 19 Kathryn Bufkin Upper School English Faculty In person Last spring was the ‘oh my, this is all new’ phase; and fall built on what we had developed and learned in the spring. It just went more easily. I didn’t know how it was going to be with the students coming back. I worried that if it rained all the students would rush into a building and crowd in the halls. I worried about where we would put everyone for lunch. I just thought, there are too many unknowns and loose variables, and how are we going to do this? But the mechanics of it have flowed. The masks, the socially distanced spaces. It’s gone smoothly. From the beginning, I just wanted to be here. I missed the energy. Teaching is being with the students as much as possible. I’m so grateful to be teaching at a school with students I care about. That hasn’t changed. We are fortunate that Ransom Everglades has quality students who respond to intellectual inquiry. They’re still with me. They’re still enthusiastic. But I’m going to be honest: Harkness (roundtable) discussions have worked, but not as well as if we were all in a small classroom. It’s like the Harkness is a kind of a dulled instrument. It’s not the sharp weapon that it can be. I can’t read expressions. You can’t roam around. Over the decades, you learn the nuances of facial expression, who seems to be teetering into lack of attention; there are ways of yanking them back. It’s always instantaneous and personal, and it’s carried by the energy in a small room. However, it has gone better than I thought, and well enough due to the quality of students. Ransom Everglades students are so smart and willing to be intellectually stimulated. And I expect their interest will continue to pick up because we’re reading literature – such as The Great Gatsby – in the second semester that I know the students love. Even so, I won’t be satisfied with my teaching until it all goes back to normal. This past year has definitely upped my technical arsenal, and I know that’s going to stay with me. Another positive: Teaching writing has not changed. It takes more time, but reading and reacting to students’ essays is the same as it was. Their writing has gotten better, the way it always did. That has not been intruded upon by the pandemic. It’s also been great for the environment; there’s no paper. And I can still meet with students; in fact, it’s almost easier to do so now. The bottom line: I have many reasons to be glad to be here. I’ve been impressed by the school’s response, and the students’ efforts. I was worried in the surges that we would shut down, and we haven’t. I trust the school leadership to do the medically and psychologically sound thing. The students are delighted to see each other. I’m grateful that even though it’s raging outside, in these walls, the school has done its best to control it. We’ve created an oasis for learning.”