If you have not cried at work this week, are you even a teacher?
Your morning alarm sounds and you awake from your exhaustion-driven slumber. You rollover, check social media, begrudgingly scroll through the news, and start your morning hygiene routine. But, something is very different about this routine.
Instead of searching for your car keys, you’re choosing between your favorite pair of work slippers.
One must always maintain a level of professionalism and, by God, these work slippers with the bunny ears will do the trick!
And, while the idea of wearing PJs to work used to be the envy of everyone I knew, it’s now a reason to double down on your anti-depressants. When we all fantasized about the flexibility of working from home, we never imagined our kids would be shouting in our ears, daycares would be shutdown, and we’d be “trapped” in our homes.
I’ve watched in awe as I view the creative ways professors and other educators are adapting their styles and curricula- from shipping materials to each student to perform chemistry experiments to rethinking collaboration techniques using tools like Google Classroom. I come from a family of teachers — both my parents, a few cousins, and my younger brother and sister-in-law. It is inspiring to see their tireless commitment to ensuring their students gain knowledge.
For those of us in the education industry, we’ve become acutely aware of the inequities that exist as we now rely on our students’ home resources including items we don’t think about daily, e.g. stable internet, meals, and a safe and supportive learning environment. The reality is, students rely on not just teachers, but schools for these items including free or reduced-price meals.
I cannot underscore enough just how challenging the environment is for parents of children with special needs as well. In these cases, our teachers are truly heroes, working to partner with parents to provide an incredible level of support, expertise, and service.
We are all navigating these realities alongside our students, which is both emotionally exhausting and heartbreaking. From my professional lens, it’s been fascinating to see the differing levels of support and resources that higher education institutions are able to provide their students and faculty. In addition to what you’re already receiving, here is a curated list of resources for educators during COVID.
My only advice as an education administrator is to embrace this semester as a time for personal and professional growth.
We are developing a level of grit we didn’t think possible, we are strengthening muscles we didn’t know existed, and we are seeing more clearly the structural inequities that are ever-present in our society.
To all the educators out there, I say, bravo.
You continue to make sacrifices in pursuit of education and we are better for it. Thank you for doing all you can to provide access to your students and for the emotional toll it takes to deliver education in a COVID-19 world.
