I just read a post this morning on an education group to which I belong that said, "Snacks and jeans days are not going to cut it." Such a time we find ourselves in, with educators desperately trying to stand in the gap and keep the faith but feeling so overwhelmed, they just hurt and are crying out for help.
I've been talking with some of my students at Grand Canyon University (teachers who are getting their master's degrees in Educational Leadership in hopes of becoming school leaders one day) who tell me some version of, "It's not the kids. I love my kids. It's the morale of being beaten down by COVID craziness, not feeling supported by administration, being beaten up by parents, and unrealistic expectations of what students should be able to accomplish." I've thought about this a great deal, and I truly believe that the students who are in 2nd grade are truly just newbies to this thing called "school". Then why in the world should we have any expectation that they should have to pass the same standardized test that was given to 2nd graders three or four years ago? Indeed, some students are in situations in which they were going to learn all the 2nd grade material in spite of COVID craziness, but really? Not nearly as many as are expected by schools, districts, states, etc. So, what do we do? One of the things I've been thinking about, praying about, talking about and now blogging about is the need for a tribe. No matter what, we need to feel like we have people who can relate and will allow us to vent when needed. Here are my random thoughts that I am trying to pull together:
I'm blessed to have a few types of these tribes in my life. I pray that you have at least one, because nobody is getting out of here alive, in the end. Just for today, perhaps we can reach out to a member of one of our tribes (or the whole tribe if you happen to have them on a text thread) and talk about how it's okay to not always be okay. Happy (or "Content") Communicating! Shelly
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