“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”
John F. Kennedy
Stress, fear, anxiety, grief, and death are on the rise during the unprecedented Coronavirus pandemic that has established a new normal in how our students are instructed across this nation. There is talk that this Covid-19 pandemic has the potential to be a traumatic, catastrophic event that is worse than what Americans have experienced in World Wars, Vietnam, 9-11, Afghanistan, and the terroristic attack of 9-11, to list a few major events.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, one may feel panic, be disoriented, feel hopeless, uneasy, helpless, worried, anxious, fearful, and have difficulty sleeping and coping with the lack of our regular routines of everyday life. Despite all that is still uncertain and unknown about this pandemic and the devastating toll that it has had on our communities across the US and the world; it is vital and critically important to care not only about the academic performance of students but also their physical, social, and emotional well-being.
This interruption in our daily routines that has negatively impacted our country with physical distancing, has caused the loss of jobs, and claimed thousands of lives causes us to establish a new normal going forward. Your efforts to ensure that students are fed, have learning packets, and have access to technology and wifi to stay engaged in the learning process are all admirable efforts. As an educator, you should be applauded for having virtual office hours, checking in about the social, emotional, and academic well-being with your students, instilling hope and maintaining warm, supportive, and caring relationships with students and their families.
We want to thank educators for being patient and innovative in encouraging students, parents/guardians, and colleagues to share in the collective responsibility in providing a safe and nurturing environment that supports the academic, developmental, social-emotional, and physical needs of children in our schools.
The work that you are doing on behalf of children and families is noble work! We cannot predict with any certainty how the coming days, weeks, and months will unfold. We want you to continue to stay the course and applaud your resilience as we navigate unchartered waters before us in an effort to best serve the academic, health, physical, safety, and emotional well-being of all students, every day, with no exceptions.
It is in times like these that we must remain hopeful, steadfast, and engaged in the learning process to stress the value and importance of education and be sure to offer support and understanding to one another. Your innate sense of caring, compassion, empathy, and prioritizing the well-being of students and their families will be critical to our response to this global event.
Authored by Senior Consultant, Tony Hill. Tony supports schools in Norfolk, VA, and can be reached at thill@focusedschools.com.
