Kids these days…
Well friends, after today we have five school days left in the year (but who's counting?). The slog is on; we have donned our waders and are making our way through the muck. We have been celebrating the season and keeping spirits up with ugly sweater day, red and white day, red and green day, cozy slipper day. We have filmed our winter concert and editing is happening as I write. Traditional Christmas movies are surfacing in bits and pieces in classrooms, and every once in a while, I can hear the scream-filled-glee as Will Farrell hits the roof with the Santa Announcement as classes watch movie excerpts in the afternoon! Students are making Christmas crafts and cards for loved ones, for those in care homes, and for those missing family and friends. The usual activities such as winter wonderland skate, popcorn and movie afternoon, or hot chocolate and cookie craft making days are completely off the agenda for the time being.
We are monitoring the well-being of all our students, keeping a keen eye and worrying to make sure our kids are ‘okay’. We want to make sure they come to school, as attending to school is the most normal and best thing for children. We know that long-term negative effects are lessened when they come to school. So, we plan new activities and make new inroads into keeping traditions alive in new ways. We keep the joy alive as best we can.
Over the summer, as I was preparing for this school year, I fumbled across a book by Dr. Jody Carrington. Kids These Days was a great read, quick and informative. I was looking at it again two nights ago after a pretty challenging day, and was reminded of a central message that we need to keep in mind right now, and as we move ahead into the New Year and Spring time.
Our families, our parents, and the people we love are only going to be ok if the adults who work with them are okay first. In the world of education, our kids are kids; there are the scholars, the artists, the dreamers, the drifters, the spitters, the kickers, the ones who struggle, the ones who explode, the ones who have bathroom accidents. The ones who remember to breathe and the ones who don’t. They enrich our lives, fill us with joy, bring us laughter, keep us awake at night thinking about how we can do better, be better, work better. And in all this, we need to remember that the adults who are holding space for our kids need support now more than ever.
Human beings are hard wired for connection and right now, and we are disconnected more than ever. We FaceTime, ZOOM, send emoji’s and call, but truth be told, many of us are ZOOMED and Face Timed out! We need real, in-person connection, and, for now, it is simply not on the table. We hear it all the time, and trite though may it sound, we ARE in it together. I believe we can do this, and I believe we can do it with excellence, support, laughter, levity and care. I feel the angst, worry, upset, and exhaustion on part of the adults. I see the tears that the teachers didn’t even know were about to plop out until they have landed on my desk. And I am grateful that each and every educator shows up every day. Believe me, I know it is not easy.
My hope for today and especially for the next week ahead is for everyone to be well, take care, be gentle and kind to one another and know that I am grateful for what is done every single day in every single way.