05/28/2021
We are so grateful to the amazing teachers we have at the workshop, who have worked so hard to make sure their students feel supported, cared for, and engaged during such a tumultuous time. Julie, one of our treasured teachers, has been a true star 🌟✨💫We asked her to share her reflections on the past year:
"The one thing I knew in August about this school year was that it would not look like anything any of us had ever experienced. I decided to leave the school where I was employed, told the Workshop I was open to taking on any student, and hoped for the best. The experiment began with a multi-age, multi-grade pod that first met in students’ Carroll Gardens backyards and then at The Workshop once everything was in place. Fast forward to May, where I was juggling a weekly schedule of fifteen students, ages 4-11, pre-K to 5th grade, traveling to students’ homes in Manhattan, Brooklyn Heights, and Ditmas Park as well as sessions at The Workshop, where students also feel very much at home (some kick off their shoes upon entry at the front door). How incredibly rewarding it has been to have the opportunity to work with such a wide range of children in so many different subject areas and skills, to support and/or extend what they have been learning in schools, to explore their interests and opinions, and expand their ideas and curiosity together. I knew how important it would be for students particularly this year to feel secure and stable, and to have a safe space to express themselves given the unpredictability of life around us, which any day could mean a school or classroom closure, or a positive COVID test or exposure. While the masks covered most of our faces as physical barriers, they did not stop us from developing strong bonds of trust and friendship, joyfully learning and creating, and celebrating one another’s birthdays and accomplishments. I am so appreciative to the families of my students for their partnership and support, and for all the lessons I learned this year from their truly inspiring children."
We are so appreciative of YOU, Julie!
