I believe the world could learn a lot from educators, especially right now. I don’t just mean in the way of supporting parents with schooling at home. No, I am referring to falling on the old faithful basics that educators use all the time in order to manage or assemble a sense of order in their classroom. Even though everyone around the world is stressing the practice of social distancing, we still need to feel connected. As you navigate through these uncharted waters due to COVID-19, please take some tips from teachers:
RAISE YOUR HAND
I think that I mean this by way of volunteering, and I will explain. Right now, there are many people in need. I sometimes get overwhelmed just thinking about it. The best thing we can do to maintain a sense of control over this entire situation is to help where we can. This might just mean helping your kids who are at home and have schoolwork to do. Or, you might have an elderly neighbor or parent who needs to get groceries. Some of you could be handing out meals to those in need.
Maybe, you need to raise your hand because you are the one who needs help. This is not the time to remain silent and suffer alone. Reach out to your colleagues, friends, family, and/or this community. I guarantee you are not alone. We should all be figuratively leaning on each other right now. None of this is normal, but we can do this together.
PRACTICE TIME MANAGEMENT
Now is the time to schedule the priorities in your daily life. It’s ok if you need to shift things at your home office. Give yourself some grace and take each day one at a time. For some, this might mean holding a routine. There is something said for getting up at the same time every day and changing out of your pajamas and knowing what you will do for the day. For me, I created a list of things that I can do which are split into 3 categories: work, self-improvement, and household duties. The assumption is that family will always come first. Some of my goals or wishes to do can be very quick to a big long project. If I have a moment, I refer to my list to see if there is something that I can do with that gift of time. It might just be putting a few pieces of a puzzle together for a moment.
EMBRACE THE CRAZY
I say this time and time again because teachers know how to or learn very quickly to embrace the crazy. Things can change very quickly when working in a school building with many moving parts and vested interests. Sometimes, we plan the most amazing lesson for our students using technology only to find that the internet or wi-fi have gone down for the day. Maybe, you scheduled a test several weeks ago but then find out, during the week of the test, that a pep rally or fire drill will have changed the daily schedule.
Many of us are watching the news and adjusting to the new suggestions for social distancing. There are a ton of memes on-line referencing the lack of toilet paper in stores. Maybe you have found an alternative when things got desperate. No judgement here. Take 3 deep breathes, think about what is most important, and reach out to someone for help.
MODIFICATIONS ARE KEY – PRIORITIES CHANGE
This fits nicely with my Embrace the Crazy motto. You might find that something that was a priority last week is now at the bottom of the list. Things change. Your mindset can adjust. Often a teacher will make a great lesson plan for an entire unit of study, but when they go to execute one of the daily lessons, they find that it didn’t go as planned. Sometimes, the teacher will make a change by the time the next class period begins and sometimes the whole day is scrapped. This is the time when you either say it will be a lesson learned and move on, or you make lemons out of lemonade. You might find that after modifying your original plan that the new one is even better.
SCHEDULE A RECESS
I heard someone say that they make sure to schedule blue sky time. I loved this imagery. I assume one of the main reasons that elementary schools make time for recess is because we all need some time to decompress and enjoy life. Recess may look different for everyone. If it is not nice outside, you might plug in a yoga app on your phone and meditate in your living room. This might be a chance to hop on an Xbox or Play Station to play some video games. You could take the dog for a walk or read a book on your patio. The point is to get away from the news and the stress of working from home or supporting your kids in their learning. Take a break.
Want the world needs now is “love sweet love”. I keep singing the song in my head by Jackie DeShannon. Don’t go at this alone. Learn some lessons from teachers—give yourself room to make mistakes, ask for help, and be open to needed change.
See You Real Soon,
Erin
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