School Re-Openings 2020
In this premiere blog post & podcast episode, I unpack some of the emotions surrounding the re-opening of schools from the perspective of parents and educators during the summer and fall of 2020. Together, we will unpack 3 takeaways:
increasing your growth mindset
developing your resiliency
seeking restoration
We’re going to start with a “Do Now”, just like we do to stimulate student engagement in the classroom. So, grab a Ticonderoga pencil ✏️ , colored pen🖊, or Crayola marker 🖍 and a Post-It Note, a loose-leaf sheet of paper 📝 or your Erin Condren Vision Journal📒 , and jot down the first 3 words that come to mind about SUMMER. 🎶 ☺️ Hold on to your list. We’ll come back to those 3 words in a bit.
Carefree summer days. In a time when most educators are relaxing and parents & grandparents are most likely doing the same, and in a time when most young people of all ages are in the season of freedom: playing with friends for endless hours, bike riding, summer camps, and staying up late, this has been no ordinary summer. The summer of 2020 has been VERY different. COVID-19, conversations, and decisions around hybrid vs. virtual vs. in-person and predictions of a second surge have impacted the sanctity of summer and the fall!
Summer has always been a time of relaxation and restoration. A time for everyone to practice self-care including our United States Congress and the corporate world. Summer is often thought of as a time of healing for the mind, body, and soul. I don’t know about you, but I feel a bit robbed of that restoration time.
Stress is the opposite of relaxation and restoration and is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as:
“A state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life, work, etc.; something that causes strong feelings of worry or anxiety; physical force or pressure.”
There are a lot of feelings surrounding this topic: fear, anxiety, sadness, confusion, disappointment, and curiosity. We have some mixed feelings about how the spring of 2020 went with remote learning. Some students, parents, educators, and administrators thought it was a good experience, while others not so much. It was a time when systems, teams, and individuals learned their true strengths and what areas they needed to grow in. Now that we are in the swing of things this fall of 2020, there have been improvements, but still a lot of uncertainty and “planning as you go’ discussions.
Now look back at your 3 words you jotted down. Put a checkmark next to those words that stayed the same for you during the summer of 2020. Now add 1 to 3 more words that were not on your list that may have defined your summer. 🎶
One of the biggest challenges for all stakeholders has been technology. Whether it has been accessing it or utilizing it properly, some have excelled with the use of technology and some have struggled. Unfortunately, some have let that struggle get the best of them. Some stayed right where they were, while others with a growth mindset took a course or joined a Facebook group to improve their tech-savviness, and another group went as far as to create a Youtube channel to share their new-found strengths with others. This group has demonstrated a growth mindset. Where do you fall along the technology usage continuum? Even if you excelled in the area of technology before the pandemic, what other ways have you grown or shared with others? Was it learning a new platform, using a new Google extension, adding a Bitmoji to your lesson templates, or did you design a new curriculum? If you have been struggling with technology, who did you ask to support you so that you would be more comfortable using the various platforms and extensions that are required? You still have time to ask and to learn and we at A & C Unlimited are just a click away.
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Now, circle the top priority on your list and take note of whether it fits into the category of a noun: a person, place, or thing. 🎶 Keep this person, place, or thing in mind as we continue.
Still, at this late date, some of us are uncertain about school and district decisions regarding school re-openings. Some are grappling with their own personal decisions. Families and educators alike are weighing in on should I or shouldn’t I send my child to school. It is heavy, heavy stuff right now. So, even if a school and/or a district has decided that they will have an in-person model, everyone is not so keen on returning in person. Some people have pre-existing conditions and some have family members who have pre-existing conditions. Six-feet apart, wearing a mask or not, taking temperatures or not, in-person, hybrid, virtual. There is so much to think about as schools re-open.
Let’s get ready to dive back in with some ways to keep a growth mindset during these uncertain times. For many of us during the summer of 2020 and now the fall of 2020, we have had to think out-of-the-box. We’ve had to reach into our toolbox and think creatively. We’ve had to pivot as things have changed and we’ve had to bend when we would normally break. If you have not learned anything else about yourself during the spring, summer, and fall of 2020, I hope you have learned how resilient you are! Yes! Pat yourself on the back. You survived a lot and yet you’re still standing. For some of you, you’re not only standing, but you’re thriving! Maybe not in some of the ways that you anticipated when you declared your New Year’s Resolution for 2020, but in other ways. Everyone’s mental capacity has strengthened even if it feels fragile right now. For some of you, your physical capacity has improved, and still, for some others, you have developed a stronger intellect through it all. For all of us, we have deepened our level of empathy toward one another and that’s incredible!
So, how do we use our resiliency to manage the feelings that we have about schools reopening? If you’re a parent or grandparent, it is super important that you keep an air of positivity surrounding school reopening for your child/grandchild. This is one of many messages from organizations that address the whole child in their mission. ICT Learn states:
Schools will announce fall plans soon. I imagine everyone will be unhappy. Remember, you will help determine your child's attitude. Be angry or sad in private. Discuss your frustrations away from the kids. Set them up for success by teaching them to make the best of it. Be a sounding board for their worries and disappointments. Stay positive and model perseverance.
My takeaways are that YOU help determine your child’s attitude and perseverance. These two are HUGE! They are equally challenging and impactful. As a parent/grandparent, you are your child’s safety net. As educators, we serve as a safety net too. When we are angry or sad as adults in front of children, they start to direct their energy into making you less angry or less sad. Let’s lighten their load and build a spirit of perseverance and resiliency into our children this fall no matter what decisions we make for them about returning and no matter what decisions are made for us. Easier said than done, I know, but I didn’t say it was going to be easy. I do know, however, that you can do it.
Now, to my fellow educators. We are servant leaders by nature. But servants also need to be intentional in the ways that they take care of their minds, bodies, and souls. Yes, self-care. As many of you know, educators are some of the most selfless people, so even hearing the word self-care makes them cringe because it means they have to do something for themselves BEFORE they do something for others. But, the example of putting on your own oxygen mask first on an airplane is true. You are no good to the ones you love and the ones you serve unless you take care of you first ~ specifically to the reopening of schools. Notice I said YOU and that I did not say based on a district or a union or a team decision ~ unless the team is your family. Y-O-U have to make decisions that are best for you. That’s your self-care assignment. 🤗 As Jon Gordon posted on Twitter:
Adversity can break you or lead you to a breakthrough. Use it to grow stronger, wiser and better.
My takeaways are breakthroughs and grow better. Each of these words has such powerful meanings and will have a powerful impact. Unless we deal with what we NEED, we won’t be able to be there 110% for our students OR our families. It’s easier to be consumed by deficit thinking (worry, anxiety, confusion, etc), but I didn’t say that would be easy either. Let’s choose US first so we can breakthrough this challenge, jump this hurdle, and grow better in how we serve our students, whether we decide to do it virtually, in-person or hybrid. Let’s restore ourselves so that we can continue to pour out to others. 🤗
Before we go for today, look at your list one more time and take a look at the word you circled as your priority. Is that word a person, a place, or a thing? Now say that word or name out loud and if you’re surrounded by people who are not reading this blog, invite them to read it later but whisper it to yourself for now. Whatever word or person you chose is whatever or whoever is most important to you. 🤗 Despite what is going on around you in these coming weeks and months, continue to think about ways that you can keep it or them a top priority in your life. This will no doubt be one of the ways to continually restore your soul. What is most important to you, you will make time for, you will nurture it, and it will manifest.
We’ve unpacked so much today in so little time, but here’s a reminder of the takeaways:
your mindset determines your actions ~ so make it a growth mindset
you are resilient and your children/students have resiliency inside of them that you have the power to further cultivate
that we have to restore ourselves so that we can pour out our best for others
I’ll leave you with this final quote by simplestencils.com:
NOT EVERYTHING IS CANCELLED
sunshine is not cancelled
spring is not cancelled
love is not cancelled.
relationships are not cancelled
reading is not cancelled
naps are not cancelled
music is not cancelled
dancing is not cancelled
imagination is not cancelled
kindness is not cancelled
conversations are not cancelled
hope is not canceled
Until next time, stay stress-free and be well!
Citations
stress. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stress#:~:text=%3A%20a%20state%20of%20mental%20tension,%3A%20
ICT Learn Education that Inspires. School reopenings in 2020. Facebook, Aug. 2020, 9:00 a.m., www.facebook.com/. Accessed August 2020.
@JonGordon11. (Jon Gordon). “Adversity can break you or lead you to a breakthrough. Use it to grow stronger, wiser and better”. Twitter, August 2020, 8:00 a.m., https://twitter.com/JonGordon11.
TheSimpleStencil.com [Pinterest post]. Pinterest. Not Everything is Canceled #KeepLookingUp Retrieved August 2020, from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/816770082408634972/?nic_v2=1a7iEhz5d