In two months, my students will get laptops. All of them. In two months, I’ll be expected to teach a digital curriculum on a digital platform in a digital format. Even our lesson plans now have to be posted digitally. Remember when we wrote and typed lesson plans? Remember those days? I remember it well, as I started teaching in 1992, when laptops were stand-alone devices and “networking” was something you did at happy hour.

We’ve come a long way since then, gradually, with fits and starts. The anxiety is building among teachers as we all go through Digital Instruction Trainings. One of my Course Level Team members has opted for early retirement, rather than face the digital tsunami.

“Gerald, I’m retiring in January,” Martin quipped after a Laptop Training.

“Say what?” I gasped. He had only 25 years of teaching, three more than I, and although he was eligible for retirement under the Rule of 80, everyone knows that you need to put in at least 30, preferably 35 years of teaching, to get a decent retirement. He was going to retire on half pay rather than become a digital teacher. Martin silently nodded.

“I talked to TRS last weekend and I can do it,” he spoke solemnly.

“Martin, remember when we first got desktop computers and you were holding the mouse with two hands? Remember that? Now look at you. Your lessons are online, your gradebook is online and you are creating tests with software that lets you track the student data. This is just another step.”

“One small step for man…” he said as his voice trailed off. Martin and I have taught together for two decades and he is one hell of a teacher. I sat there scratching my head. Well, as they say in sports, next player up. We will miss him, the kids will miss him, and I will miss him. Anxiety over the digital tsunami is high.