Did I say, “I don’t know.” If you didn’t hear it, let me say it again, “I don’t know!”
Should our kids be back in school, physically, or practice remote learning? Should our teachers have to go to class, opening themselves up to contact with asymptomatic carriers? Should schools postpone their start dates, alter their schedules, rearrange classrooms, limit or cancel extracurricular activities? I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.
When all of this began in the late winter, none of us had any idea we would be having this conversation. None of us knew the toll that home-schooling would take on working parents. None of us knew the stress teachers would feel in having to learn an entirely new discipline of teaching. Nothing about COVID-19 has been predictable or easy: now or in the future.
Amy and I want to say to all parents out there… God bless you! Of course, when we have children we know what we’re getting into: i.e. we are actually responsible for them, all the time. The pandemic, however, has exacerbated all the time to be - All. The. Time. Thank you for your efforts. Thank you for being there all the time and then some more! Thank you for your compassion and nurturing and patience and flexibility. Thank you for loving your children. You are making a difference in this world!
We want to say to all teachers out there… God bless you! I have always believed that teaching is the most needed and least appreciated profession of all. Your work is never easy. I can’t even imagine what you have faced in the last few months, and how you are preparing for a new school year. We know you are overworked and underpaid and that the stresses of the coming months are weighing very heavily on you. For what it’s worth, let us say it loudly and clearly: Thank you. You are making a difference in this world!
We want to say to all educational staff and administrators… God bless you! The burden of making the very difficult decisions about school reentry has to fall on someone’s shoulders. I’m sorry for that – but grateful for your expertise and wisdom and experience. I believe that you are making your decisions based on these qualifications and based on your reading of the science and with the best interest of your faculty and your students in mind. I am sorry the world is so angry right now and that much of what you are hearing is from people who are critical of every move you make. We have trusted our children with you in the past. I hope that “cooler heads will prevail” and you will feel the support and appreciation of those so indebted to your tireless service. Thank you. You are making a difference in this world!
We want to say to all support staff… God bless you! Bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, teachers’ aids, your work is virtually invisible, but no school would function without you. In addition to being necessary, your work at the bottom of the pay scale makes you perhaps most vulnerable when schools are not in session. We are grateful for your dedication. Thank you. You are making a difference in this world!
To the rest of you… please, pray for our parents, our teachers, our administrators, our support staff. This is a difficult time, and nothing could be more important to the future of our world than for us to join forces in providing a supporting network of patient, compassionate, and sympathetic friends and family and colleagues. I’m not suggesting conformity of thought. Differences of opinion can be healthy. The way many people are expressing their different-than-yours opinions, is not. We can do better. For the sake of our children, we must.
Parents, teachers, administrators, support staff… Thank you. You are making a difference in this world!
- Russ