I really miss the chit chat.
It is the part that is often hard to describe. It is a bit like how Seinfeld is a show about nothing, but of course it really isn’t. When I hear stories that teaching can be much “quicker” now online because it is more focused, these people are missing the point. Teaching and schooling have never been just about the content. K-12 is not just about learning a bunch of stuff.
The chit chat is the part where you talk to students about their favourite tv shows, or the soccer game they played last night, or the songs that are currently most downloaded. Great teachers use the chit chat to build rapport as a strategy towards engaging in learning. The chit chat is all the little things that great teachers do to connect to students so when it gets to the content the students feel safe, connected and ready to engage. The chit chat builds confidence, and connections and makes children know they are special.
I know there are many ways schools are trying to re-create this community. I love what I am seeing in our schools. We have virtual clubs, jokes of the day, and online talent competitions. It is great, but when we return to in-person schooling it is not the learning that I am looking forward to the most.
I am really looking forward to the chit chat.
cultureofyes.ca 
Gold Jerry!
You hit it right on the nail!
Calendar time starts the school day for the little ones. We learn to share and to listen.
Hear, hear!
[…] The Chit Chat […]
[…] – I wrote a post last spring about the loss of chit-chat. The argument is that one of the best things about school is the silly side conversations about […]