Permission to Struggle

A teacher friend was sharing with me how stressed and overwhelmed she felt recently. She teaches art for two elementary schools. She works with students from K-5. As she described her situation, I could feel her pain. I know I could not handle what she does every day. Over the years of my career, I have worked at every grade level at some point. I am in awe of teachers who are dedicated to their students and are committed to ensuring students have a safe, inviting, empowering learning experience. In the best of times, this is tremendous work that is often unseen and undervalued. In these times, it is exponentially so. Everyone involved, teachers, students, parents, administrators, are navigating new waters, trying to keep their heads above it all.

When we are faced with overwhelming circumstances, we can do some things to help:

·       Give ourselves permission to stumble our way through it. No one knows the answers to many of these new dynamics. Trial and error might be the only way to go at times. Our main response is to learn from our experiences as quickly as possible.

·       Be realistic in our expectations for those involved, particularly ourselves. Trying to be perfect in this environment is unhealthy and unnecessary.

·       Put people first. We need to be aware of the emotional strain uncertainty creates and be gracious to each other in the process.

·       Determine what is essential and prioritize those things. In terms of education, these may include reading, writing, creative thinking, critical thinking, communicating ideas, problem-solving, reasoning, performing, building, or evaluating. We need to spend less time “covering” content and focus on the processes of learning.

·       When all is said and done each day, we need to realize we’ve done the best we can in the circumstances. Tomorrow we will give it another go. If we string enough days together, we will get to the other side of this chaos.

Years ago, I taught homebound students for extra income. One of the things I learned from them is that the set educational formula did not work for them. However, they still moved forward in life despite some incredibly difficult circumstances. In time, they each found a successful path. I am convinced that we will find out that much of our beliefs on how education is supposed to be done is outdated or unnecessary. We have an opportunity to really evaluate what students truly need from school. We will be better for it if we do.