School started this week where I live. One of my favorite things to do was to attend the High School meet the teacher night. This would usually happen within the first month of school. Since I live close enough, I’d ride my bike there and follow my kid’s schedule. Each teacher has about 7 minutes and the parents would rush from one class to the next, just as the kids must. It was a great opportunity to see what life is to be like for your child that year and get some anchoring to the classes and teachers. For me, a bike ride back in the twilight before it gets dark. I felt a sense of pleasure in not having to find parking or deal with the traffic.
That all ended with the pandemic. Now it’s a series of videos the teachers post. I think this was a vital connection we lost and I hope they bring it back. It is good to meet people face to face. It is good to get some skin in the game. It seems more likely people will go to a place than to run through a series of videos at home and on their device, which competes for a hundred other options wanting their attention.