This is all just hard right now. Teachers have been asked to, at a moments notice, become master online educators. They do their best, but fall asleep knowing some of their students went unreached because they don’t have internet access. They frantically learn new apps and online tools to better reach students...to somehow keep instruction at the level their students deserve and need. Some of them are trying to teach their students while simultaneously supporting their own children’s online work, chasing toddlers, or taking care of an infant because daycare doesn’t feel safe right now either.
The students long to visit with their friends, hug their teacher’s neck, or have a meal that fills their belly each day. They love a little freedom, but crave the normalcy and predictability that school brings.
And parents. They’ve been asked to suddenly become something they’ve had no training for. They are suppose to support their child’s education, and teach content in ways they were never taught. To top it off they are balancing working at home, the stress of their small business facing closure, or the fear of going to work everyday while risking the health of themselves and their families.
The walls of ours homes are creeping closer together every day. We are merely days into something that promises to continue for weeks if not months.
It takes grit, hope, and positivity to walk in this uncertain time. And the truth is that we will all experience it differently and decide how to handle each day and each challenge. However, what will get us through is each other. We have to hold onto the notion that although we are physically far apart, we must continue to work together. Right now, that’s the thing that matters most of all.