We got permission recently to return to the classroom and grab our personal possessions. It was a pretty clear objective: get in, grab what you need, then get out.

It didn’t exactly work out that way.

Walking in, everything was a rush of surrealism as I encountered an empty room waiting for students. “Upcoming Assignments” on the board, work to hand back, student bins with their portfolios and my kettle waiting to brew another cup of coffee.

The scene required a few moments to take in and process. It represented a promise of students returning, memories to share and closure to the year.

More importantly, it represented a community that will no longer gather.

Then I asked a hard question: Would they want to?

Have we done enough to make school a community that students want, need and look forward to?

Have we allowed students autonomy to build that community as well?

These questions set a course for how I’ll be teaching next year.