I'm not sure what it is about this calendar year, but there seems to be a well-designed plan to throw us as many curve-balls as possible - this is creating tremendous anxiety, stress and, in some cases, trauma in people. Society in general, quite frankly, is a mess and as usual, we will be called on to clean it up.
Like everything that happens in society, or privately in the homes and lives' of our students, those feelings of stress, anxiety, conflict and trauma will find their way into school and we as professional educators will be left to filter through these many issues and find creative ways to deal with them, learn from them and help students grow positively from this unique time in history.
As stated above, we are dealing with what seems to be an abnormal amount of "curve-balls" historically speaking, in my opinion, and this conflict and stress will create tension and trauma in our students that will manifest itself in poor behaviors, poor decisions and ultimately the inability to fully focus their brains on learning - for those students who have already been exposed to trauma and have high ACE scores, schools cannot open fast enough.
Regardless of the exact causes of stress, it is important for all of us to keep focusing on the things that we can control and which we know work to keep learning at the center of what we do. Keep leaning on relationships & Capturing Kids' Hearts, John Hattie's research for most effective instructional strategies to close gaps, keep reminding students that there is a better life and that through education and our care and guidance, they can make a difference and contribute positively in this world.
Thank you for being in this profession; there is no other profession that quite has the power as we do to save lives, change lives and re-shape the world.
#REALLIFESUPERHEROES!!!
