Don’t Miss the Gem in the Lesson

The sun is shining this morning, and we have survived another collegiate year of teacher training. It certainly wasn’t crisis free, nor did the plan always go as planned. But this Friday, a new set of teachers will walk across the stage to receive their hard-earned acknowledgement that indeed, they are qualified to lead our future leaders into their future.

As I reflect on all that this unique year has brought us, I am keenly aware of the work ahead of us. And as any educator worth their certification knows, if you do not reflect on the struggles and achievements (especially while they are raw in your being,) you will miss valuable lessons needed for the future.

I am a goal setter. Often, I have to be reminded to look at and appreciate what has been accomplished before I focus on what needs to still be ‘fixed.’

So, even as I coached my students, I too must acknowledge what another year underneath the quarantine has given us in education.

Perhaps the quarantine has been the number one tool in spotlighting the inequities in education. Years of too many pleas falling on deaf ears, or limited budgets mis-proportionately assigned… suddenly held no candle to the immediate needs of ALL children. And even if we have not solved all these inequities and access issues, we will be hard pressed to ignore them ever again.

The vulnerabilities of ‘Zoom Exposure’ strikes a sharp chord for me personally. Being on the adult side of education at this point in my career, I STILL cannot fathom teaching remotely to children. Screens OFF?!? It claws at the very core of my reason for becoming a teacher. It challenged me to how well I did or didn’t build relationship with my adult students as we navigated week after week of screen time to teach the essential elements of relationship building.

Legalities of privacy, human rights, equity and vulnerability do not hold a candle to my need for connection. I UNDERSTAND the issues. I just so happen to also recall what it took before the quarantine and virtual learning, to build a classroom community where what was being taught and how it was being shared made kids WANT to be seen.

If this past 14 months has taught us anything, it is the ever-essential ingredient of relationship. When this pandemic is truly behind us, whatever THAT may look like, I pray we do not forget the crucial lessons it gave us.

I know what I need to do better. And some of that is outside my comfort zone. So what? It’s what being a professional and a human being striving for their highest good will do. Discomfort is not the enemy. Working through discomfort can be the cement that holds these pandemic-related-lessons together.

We CAN and must build our future educational foundation on these re-enlightened insights, so that all will be given the opportunities they deserve. To do less, would be a tragic conclusion for all we braved and all we lost.