This morning my husband was reading a daily devotional out loud for us and within the first two minutes of him reading I realized that I had already planned out two of my bulletin boards for this fall, written half of this blog post, and made a list of things I need to do today. While he was reading. For two minutes. Sheesh.
I think teachers are born to multi-task. We’re good at tending to 18 kids at the same time. We’re good at putting out friendship fires in the middle of math lessons (while we’re still teaching!). We’re even good at preparing to leave, leaving, and arriving at places at weird times, like 11:18 and 3:12.
If you are a teacher, or a parent, or a student for that matter, I’m sure your head is swirling with back-to-school thoughts. Mine is. I think most of us vacillate between being excited to get back in the trenches and routines and being afraid that students, family members, or teachers will become sick and the ramifications that could have on our communities.
I know that there are legitimate concerns about going back, but I also know that we will make it work.
The possibility of masks for little kids? Ya’ll. If we end up having to do that, we will make it work. One of the super powers that teachers possess is getting kids to do things that they may not want to do – every day! And sometimes we even make it a little fun.
The possibility of virtual learning thrown in for kids that have to miss school from illness or exposure? We will make it work. If we didn’t know how to present and post material online before, we sure do now!
The possibility of plastic partitions in classrooms to keep kids separated? We will make it work.
Six feet apart? We’ll make it work.
Lunch in the room? We’ll make it work.
Teachers missing school? We’ll make it work.
If any profession can keep kids safe, get them to do things in a new way, and keep them learning when circumstances are less than favorable, it’s teachers. We always find a way to teach our kids, invest in their emotional health, and create an environment for them that is conducive to learning and growing. For those of us who are choosing to stay in this profession, we will make it work.
We always do.