Yesterday I cried at work. And it wasn’t a quiet, tears-silently-trickling-down-my-cheeks cry. No. It was a gasping, shoulder-shaking sob-on-a-sweet-friend’s-shoulder cry.
Yesterday I cried at work. And it wasn’t because I didn’t want to be there. It was because I did. Yet I found myself worrying about how to meet the needs of all my students.
Yesterday I cried at work. And it wasn’t because I don’t like my job. It was because I do. But right now the unknown feels overwhelming.
Yesterday I cried at work. And I know I’m not the only one who feels like I do.
As educators, we are planning for many scenarios as we look forward to the start of a new school year. No one knows exactly what 2020-2021 will look like but we are doing our best to be prepared for whatever happens.
It hurts my heart when people say that teachers don’t care about their students, that teachers don’t want to go back to work, that teachers are lazy. Because it’s just not true. In fact, it couldn’t be further from the truth.
Because the truth is:
We want to be at school.
We love our students.
We want to be part of our students’ school year.
We want to see our students’ smiling faces. In person.
We know there are many factors to consider when school districts make the decision between remote and traditional education. It’s not an easy choice, one that will never appease everyone, and I don’t understand everything that must be considered.. But I do know school districts around the country are taking their jobs seriously, counting the costs of each decision as they continually weigh each option.
I also know that God is in control. And that thought fills me with peace. It gives me new life.
So today, I will go to work, not knowing an exact plan.
Today, I will go to work, not knowing exactly how to serve each student on my caseload.
Today, I will go to work. And there may be tears.
Yet today, I will go to work. Knowing we will all do our best to give our students exactly what they need.
Administrators
Teachers
Assistants
Parents
Students
We are all in this together.
So my message to you is this: Support each other; don’t tear each other down. Let’s all rise to the challenge that is presented to us this year.
And if you don’t have children who are enrolled in school, pray for us who do. Pray for us who work in schools. I would venture to say that, for most of us, education is a calling. And we want to do our jobs and do them well.
“Each of you should use whatever gifts you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
Love this…there really are no perfect options in this…just the best decision we can make with the information we have. I appreciate this post and you sharing. I am praying for those mentioned: teachers, administrators, assistants, parents, and students.
Yes, we just have to make the best decision in front of us and then pray. Thanks for reading!
This is beautiful. I love your sentiments and your heart. As a one-time teacher, I can only imagine all that has gone into re-opening schools. As a parent of high schoolers, I sense their anticipation at going back, yet we all know that this “normal” could be ripped away very quickly.
Thank you for loving your students well. Thank you for making in-person learning possible. And yes, I’ll definitely be praying.