During quarantine, we all had to find things to do at home. Michele Eaton, Wayne Township’s director of blended learning, already had plans. She had already started writing a book a few months before quarantine started. In total, she spent 10 months writing and publishing the book. It was officially released in June.

Her book, “The Perfect Blend” is directed towards teachers to encourage them to use blended learning in the classroom. Blended learning can help teachers meet their students needs while they can work at their own pace. Since covid has forced all of our teachers to use blended learning, Eaton’s book can help teachers transition into this style of teaching and use this in the future. 

Considering Eaton started writing the book before school closed, she had to learn how to balance her time. She didn’t write at all while she was at work, so she wrote it all while she was at home.

She spent time every night dedicated to writing her book and had to prioritize writing. She spent 4 months writing the books and then spent six months revising and publishing. She wrote the entire book herself, but referred to colleagues and other people in similar positions throughout the book. She found a passion in writing her book, and may publish another book because of the current state of education.

Since we all are having to transition to blended learning, Eaton wants everyone to give each other grace, as this is a hard time for all of us.

“Teachers have a lot on their plate and students have to be patient,” Eaton said. “This is new for everyone and the key is working together to make it successful.”

Eaton’s advice for teachers is to only use a few tools online; this way you all understand one tool really well instead of trying to understand multiple tools. She also thinks that people need to allow themselves to take a break.