We have been worrying about it for months now.
As soon as schools were shuttered in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, educators everywhere began speculating about what the return to school might look like. Whether you are hybrid, virtual, synchronous, or asynchronous – this return to school will be one that will likely shift our practice as educators for years to come.
Relationships are the cornerstone of learning. And building relationships requires trust and vulnerability. Many educators are feeling nervous about teaching in a mask and all of the new routines and procedures they have to teach and enforce. Trust and vulnerability would mean that teachers would put that out there to their students and families – we would acknowledge our own fears and anxieties in order to help both students and families recognize that we truly are all in the same place about returning to school.
Anxiety and I have a long-standing relationship – one that I have regularly acknowledged. Saying that, in such a flippant way, doesn’t actually help you to know what anxiety feels like for me. Anxiety shows up differently in different people, and anxiety in children may present in any number of ways. Building trust and being vulnerable may require that we, as educators, get real with ourselves and our students about what is really happening in our minds and our bodies when we feel anxious.
I am not advocating for oversharing. I am advocating for purposefully developing an emotional vocabulary so that we can help children find the skills that will help them manage and regulate their emotions.
Emotional literacy skills are not just for small groups of “those kids” who act out in schools. Mental health is an epidemic in this country – with anxiety impacting the lives of nearly 20% of the population. We have to recognize that as educators, our role is to teach children and not just the curriculum. And children need to know it’s okay to feel something other than good, bad, or okay. (Adults need to know this, too).
Whatever your role is in this return to school, it’s okay to be anxious or nervous or excited or relieved. It’s also okay to share that with your students and your families and let them know that you are really in this together in a way we might not have been before. The most important thing that we can do for kids and for one another right now is be there – to listen, to share, to inspire, and to walk alongside.
Hands washed, masks on, minds open – we are all going to get through this and we may even become better educators as a result.