A Note to Educators – Thank You and Stay Healthy

First and foremost, please stay healthy. The students need their teachers in this time of crisis. As you know, you have students who look to you as that safe person in their lives. Your school is iconic to your students and is part of their identity. You and your other teachers are crucial in helping your students maintain a positive attitude during this lockdown. Most students will not admit that they look up to you and your fellow teachers. They need you to show them that we are all going to get through this. Students need to know that their schools, administrators, and teachers are anxious and ready to welcome them back to the classroom as soon as it is possible. Their school is only closed temporarily, and the mentoring, love, and education their teachers offer are forever present and open. For so many, you are the light at the end of the tunnel. Keep fighting the good fight.

BTW … I have been co-officing with my High Schooler. As I was writing this blog post, I looked over my monitor. I saw my son on the other side of the home office online with his Chemistry teacher for their first official continuous education experience. Earlier this morning, when I reminded my son, he had a 10 am webinar, I got the typical teen “Argh OK.” It is funny how quickly his tune changed once he sat down and logged in. He was the first to log in, and he got to chat with his teacher for a few minutes, and then his classmates began to arrive one by one into the web meeting well. Everyone was happily greeted, and I heard how the teacher was missing her students and how the students were missing school (I should have recorded this for future “dad” use). Soon I heard laughter, questions, community, and it was evident that fun and education were happening. We need both right now in all our lives.