#2020Graduates Congratulations to Your Support System!
CK JUNE 2020 What Teachers and Parents Taught Kids
Through the Pandemic
As regulations from this pandemic finally ease up, there are
other changes happening. Teachers (and parents) are seeing a light at the end
of the tunnel. In March, when all
schools sent kids home (for what we guessed would be the last time for the
year) both parents and teachers were immediately put into new positions.
Suddenly forced to alter everything they did on a daily basis, all in the name of
Coronavirus, school went virtual, parents were no longer just assisting with a
few math problems or homework assignments, teachers weren’t just teachers anymore
but became full-time work from home parents.
I’ve homeschooled while working from home (and outside of)
and it’s not simple. It takes planning and practice, which we all know wasn’t
possible. Combine these new roles of parents and educators with the stress of being
restricted on how they spend their free time, makes it more stressful. Add how
students have their own challenges of social limitations on top of all of that,
causes an even bigger problem. We haven’t even touched on how the fact that any
amount of technological complications or comprehension issues can make it a
nightmare for some, making it feel impossible to do.
Not everyone is cut out to be a teacher, or a full-time parent, but I believe strongly that everyone can be an inspiration. I realize the past couple of months has been grueling for some, but I’ve also seen so much I feel parents and educators everywhere should be proud of. First off, if there was a time when there was support for kids when they needed it the most, it has been during this pandemic. Governments kept kids home (which we know the government and educational institutions themselves rarely promote) for their health. The school leaders offered assistance with food distribution, tech supplies and additional assistance in learning. Teachers took it upon themselves to celebrate accomplishments by conducting physical distance visits to their students! Parents stepped up to school their kids when homeschool was never part of their planned lifestyle.
We must recognize, that even though as most might be sharing
the memes of mom’s and teachers cracking open the wine on the last day of
school to say “AMEN, Hell as we know it is OVER”, I have to say, “Yay
for you! YOU DID IT!”. You got through it. At a time when children needed the
most support of their lives, you all stepped into the shoes that many of you
thought you would never be able to do. You didn’t say, “Forget this” and throw
your hands up claiming it was impossible (even though I know some wanted to). Instead,
you showed the kids that you would do at the very least, your very best. And
you made it through! Principals kept leading, teachers kept teaching. Parents
sucked it up and put their big boy or girl pants on, students all over the
nation likely breathed a sigh of relief that they weren’t in this alone and
that they were loved.
Maybe your family came together, maybe it grew apart. Maybe
you hate your child’s teacher now, maybe you love them. Maybe you’re really
tired as a teacher and wish nothing after this is over but to switch careers.
Wherever you stand at the end of this school year, know that you weren’t alone.
You did it! And today, when the last day of school or the next morning comes,
look in the mirror and tell yourself you did a good job. Then tell your student
they did a good job too. There was nothing perfect or ideal about the last
couple of months, and moving forward it looks a little strange too, but look
around you…you made it; you had help and you were of help. You were forced into
stepping up and taking on a whole new way of helping a child, and you didn’t
let that child (or children) down. Kudos to you and kudos to those kids who are
grateful not to be left on their own.
Think for a second about what we are as a parent. We don’t
often call ourselves a teacher, do we? We teach every day though. But, because
many of us don’t hold the career title “Teacher” we don’t generally think of
ourselves as one. But we are. We are guiding our children daily on life skills,
behavior and attitude. If you were educating a student at home or virtually
this year, you were showing children how to be adaptive, learn a new skill and
maybe perfect others. You were teaching your student or child patience,
strength, perseverance, you were demonstrating you weren’t perfect but that you
had a no quit attitude all for their benefit. If there is any year for students
to feel at front and center, cared about, valued and supported it’s this year.
I don’t care if you feel your school’s tools weren’t
perfect, your parenting at home wasn’t perfect, your own skills weren’t perfect
or your students weren’t perfect, you all did a great job! You dealt best with
what you were handed, all the while juggling your own new-to-you pandemic
lifestyle. For that, give yourself a big round of applause. It’s over for now.
But it should never be forgotten, no matter how much it might have sucked. It’s
a testament to how much children mean to you and for that I’m grateful.
If we can teach children one thing, ever, it should be to
never quit because something is hard. Never give up because of failure, not
knowing something or being discouraged. That is the precise time they (and we)
should not throw in the towel, but put those big boy or girl pants on, suck it
up and press on.
I know I often talk about the military since my youngest
daughter just went through training to become a combat medic, but it’s because
I find that going through that journey with her was an eye opening one with a
ton of lessons to share. First, we learned to hurry up and wait. “What does
that mean?”, said no soldier or military family ever. The military has their
own timeline, their own style and their own way of communication. It is what it
is, we just show up ready, and wait, or else. Things for a military family are
constantly changing, can be inconsistent and can be (surprise) challenging. We
just deal with it; accept it and then adjust accordingly. Second, we learned to
#Embracethesuck. Yes, ma’am or sir, that is actually a phrase and probably
should be #1 on the list, they were both relevant and apparent very early on.
Third, and definitely not least, we learned to push ourselves to go beyond
limits we originally thought were impossible.
Just before my youngest daughter, Tatum, left for BCT last
June, she got a timely fortune cookie. We keep these, yes, Mom is kind of a
pack rat (stems from a childhood with very few photographic memories/memorabilia).
So, sometime after she left, my family and I went to Chinese dinner and we all
chose our fortune cookies (if you know us, you know that 99.9% of the time all
five of us each get a spot-on fortune. (The other reason I save them). Mine was
last to be opened and I nearly fainted. I gasped so loud that by the way my
whole family turned to look at me they must’ve thought I’d found a bug inside
mine. I’d gotten the same fortune as my daughter did before she left! I was so
certain it was the same one that I ran upstairs as soon as we got home to
compare them (she kept hers on her dresser as a message of encouragement before
leaping into the unknown). Sure enough, we got the same message! I was
struggling with how different it was to ship off a young 17-year-old girl to
the military opposed to sending off my oldest to college. I just knew I had to
hold on, pull up those bootstraps and hang on. It was a bumpy ride. I’ve been
waiting a long time (approximately a year) to share this story because it’s so
unbelievable. I don’t know about you, but for all the decades we’ve been eating
Chinese food, not one of us has gotten the same fortune, even if I bought a
whole bag, none have ever been the same. Nor has anyone gotten the same one as
someone else once had (I would know this, because remember, I saved them all
lol).
There are times in life when we just don’t think we have it
in us to go one more step. We feel like we’ve run out of steam and can’t see the
end in sight…like there is no possible way to make something work because we
don’t know what we’re doing. All we seem to think about is our weaknesses and
what we lack. Let me tell you, the military has taught us (even more than we
suspected) when quitting isn’t an option (like educating students this spring
wasn’t) it’s imperative to have a can-do attitude and a will to press on. Push
yourself just a little more and don’t quit. It might have felt almost
impossible, but you did it, you weren’t alone, and you taught kids some
valuable lessons. (Any parents think they’re ready to become teachers
now? Just kidding…but maybe you are!)
Mom's fortune
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