I am a Concordia graduate. Some of the teachers I had are still here and even the classrooms feel the same, smell the same. Yet it’s all very different. I’m now teaching with the teachers who taught me, and my classroom is the same one I took AP Statistics in while I was a student here. The excitement of the first day of school was the same for me as a student and teacher and so was the twinge of nervousness. It was the first year I’d taught in a high school and the first in block scheduling. Those were the easy adjustments. I like the longer class periods far more than the constant movement of students in a day with all 8 classes. I love the kids!
The beginning of the year was an easy adjustment for me transitioning from middle school to high school. It was one I greatly enjoyed. Teaching is familiar and so is giving digital assignments, but having class on Zoom and doing everything virtually was a first for me. Seeing kids faces was familiar, but Zoom doesn’t hold a candle to seeing them in class. The videos my students turned in for an assignment ended up being more than just homework to grade. I got to see my students again. Seeing their parents, siblings, and pets brought back the personality you can’t get from a picture or name on a screen. My students also got to see a part of my life I never thought they would when my three year old son would join class some days. One class even got to vote on whether he should get to stay in his pajamas or not, and it has become one of my favorite memories from the last few months.
This year was familiar to past years in a lot of ways, but the changes have made me ever more grateful for Concordia and the constant message of the love and faithfulness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the foundation of what we do even in the midst of a school year that looks far different than what any of us could have imagined. In the uncertainty of today and the months ahead, I pray that you all will find comfort in our constant and unchangeable Lord.
But you remain the same, and your years will never end. Psalm 102:27
Jenny Wade,
Science Teacher
Class of 2006