We all had our coping mechanisms during the COVID-19 shut down. Many of us binge-watched Netflix, developed rigorous at-home workout regiments, or made sourdough bread. One thing I did during the pandemic was curate multiple playlists to fill my house and head with music. As I review, or replay, working as an educator during the pandemic, I pulled together songs from those playlists to help communicate my emotions and experiences through “My Pandemic Playlist” on Spotify.
The start of the pandemic was a very interesting time in my career. I was in the thick of my student teaching year when the shutdown happened. I included Volcano” by Jimmy Buffett in the playlist to describe how it felt as if the world was ending. “Wild World” by Yusuf and Cat Stevens also showed how the world was quite literally “wild” now.
As I began looking for jobs and continuing to hear back that districts had not finalized plans for following school year, I had to redesign my expectations for myself. I began tutoring and eventually landed an elementary floater substitute position. “Vienna” by Billy Joel and “Everything has Changed” by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran help to encompass the reframing of my mindset of what my career as an educator would be. It was a sad yet freeing time for me as I opened myself up to new opportunities.
When the end of the school year drew closer, I began interviewing once again. During this time, I actually listened to “Break My Stride” by Matthew Wilder before most interviews to help boost my motivation and confidence. In May I was offered a job teaching 3rd grade in Hastings, MI and was officially a pandemic teacher.
The last three songs in my playlist are dedicated to my first year of teaching. “Good News” by Mac Miller and “Be OK” by Ingrid Michaelson help convey how I felt when I talked with noneducators about my job; caught between wanting to tell them I’m OK, and not wanting to lie about not being OK.
As an encore to this playlist, I included “I’m Just a Kid” by Simple Plan, to represent what I’m sure my students were feeling throughout the pandemic. “I’m just a kid, and life is a nightmare.”
Screen shot of my playlist on Spotify.
Listen to my playlist here.
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